WASHINGTON—In a 60-34 vote, Democratic senators on Monday overcame Republican opposition to an extension of unemployment benefits and health-insurance subsidies for jobless people.
Four Republican lawmakers sided with Democrats to reach the necessary 60-senator threshold in the procedural vote. The Republicans were Sens. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and George Voinovich of Ohio.
Led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.), most Republicans have pressed the majority Democrats to find money from elsewhere in the federal budget to pay for the measures, citing the size of the federal government’s budget deficit.
The benefits and subsidies would be extended retroactively to last week, when they were allowed to expire.
Full story: Extension of Jobless Benefits Likely to Pass – WSJ.com