Senate votes 87-13 to proceed on jobless benefits extension
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to move ahead on considering extending jobless benefits. Michigan Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Carl Levin, D-Detroit, voted to move ahead on the legislation.
But the final vote may not take place until late this week or next week because of the complicated "cloture" proceedure Senate Democrats needed to use to get debate started.
The Senate will consider extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states.
The Senate is expected to pass the bill. Then a House-Senate conference will be needed to reconcile the differences with the House bill. President Barack Obama supports the additional benefits.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress lengthens the program.
Michigan's jobless rate is 15.3 percent -- the highest in the country.
