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Friday, April 16, 2010

Democrats Struggle to Pay for Agenda

Democrats have overcome a series of filibusters and procedural snafus in passing a short-term extension of unemployment benefits and other domestic programs.

But a Senate vote Thursday evening was merely a $9.2 billion band-aid that masks a more daunting problem for Democrats: How to pay for the rest of their domestic agenda — including a long-term unemployment bill — under the strict pay-as-you-go rules they adopted earlier this year.

The short-term unemployment benefits bill, which was headed toward final passage in the House on Thursday night, also includes the COBRA health program and a Medicare reimbursement adjustment known as the “doc fix.” The bill bypassed pay-as-you-go rules because it was designated as a temporary “emergency” spending plan.

But now Democrats are stuck. - Politico Story

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