Senate Democrats are betting that a week in their home states will persuade Republicans to change their minds on an unemployment-insurance measure that they blocked this week.
Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin said Thursday he plans to bring another extension of the benefits, which expired on Dec. 28, to the floor when the Senate returns after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday break.
"I think it's important for the Republicans to go home … and explain to the people in their respective states—these Republicans—why they didn't give these people these benefits because of process," Majority Leader Harry Reid said. Procedurally, bringing the bill crafted by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., would be possible because Reid filed a motion to reconsider.
In terms of policy, Democrats view the extension as a means to bolster the economy, because the benefits would inject cash into the system and because they believe the safety net catches Americans in need. But the benefits could also serve as a political boon to Democrats, who contrast their desire to help Americans in need with what they cast as a Republican conference overly concerned with Senate procedure.
Reid pointed to a one-year paid-for version of the bill that was blocked this week as an example of what he called a Republican filibuster. But Republicans accurately make the case that Reid blocked them from offering amendments. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell this week, calling the benefits important, cast blame on Reid for thwarting Republicans' ability to offer amendments of their choosing.
“This is the fabric of Rhode Island,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) about Block Island. “I often tell people to come to the island. It’s a wonderful place to live and visit. I think it’s one of the loveliest places in the country.”
SOUTH KINGSTOWN - The University of Rhode Island will receive more than $475,000 in federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to launch a multiyear project...
Senate Democrats demanded that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) do more to protect investors.
Mayor Scott Avedisian never thought he’d see the day when he and a group of dignitaries would celebrate $250 million in improvement projects at T.F. Green Airport that had long been opposed by the city.
The state Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the fishermen of Newport, hosted a grand opening last week at State Pier Nine in Newport for the new Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen.
With the U.S. Senate expected to consider legislation that would lower student loan payments, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse held a discussion Thursday...