GOP lawmakers abandon Bush over jobless bill
Plan to extend benefits is called 'a no brainer'
WASHINGTON - John McCain is just one of dozens of Republicans abandoning President Bush to join Democrats who want to extend unemployment payments.
"We have to extend the unemployment benefits," McCain said yesterday on CNBC. "We have to . . . because we all know Americans are hurting."
McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, hasn't been shy about trying to separate himself from Bush. And neither are a bucketful of Republicans in the House as they confront a vote this week on extending jobless benefits. The half-percentage point jump reported last week in the US unemployment rate only cements momentum behind the idea.
"This is a no brainer," said US Representative Phil English, a Republican of Pennsylvania.
Dozens of House Republicans are likely to abandon Bush on a vote this week to award 13 additional weeks of unemployment compensation to people who've used up their benefits. Republican leaders and staff aides conceded that they were unlikely to be able to prevent Democrats from getting enough votes to override a veto.
The legislation would make more than 1 million people immediately eligible for extended benefits, with 3 million more becoming eligible in coming months. A House vote is expected as early as tomorrow. Benefits vary by state, but the nationwide average is about $300 a week.
The White House opposes the extension, saying such emergency steps have historically been taken only when the unemployment rate jumps considerably higher than the 5.5 percent reported for May.
Administration officials are devoting their energies to making sure the unemployment provisions are not attached to a must-pass Iraq spending bill making its way through Congress.
"While it's a concern that the unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent, that is still historically low, and lower than the averages of the '70s, '80s, and '90s," White House press secretary Dana Perino said last week.
But with Bush's clout ebbing, many Republicans already are breaking with the White House.
The situation is more tricky in the hard-to-control Senate, where Democratic leaders are pressing to keep the unemployment benefits extension linked to the Iraq bill.
Democrats had sought to include the unemployment insurance extension in the economic stimulus legislation passed early in the year, only to be blocked.
Many economists say giving cash to the unemployed is an efficient way to boost the economy.
"It will not only help people who have lost their jobs and been unable to find new ones, but it'll also give a boost to the economy," Senator Susan Collins, a Republican of Maine, said.
Last month Democrats won a veto-proof 75-to-22 vote to add the unemployment insurance extension to Bush's war spending bill and more than $10 billion in other domestic spending.
