Republicans continue to hold up unemployment extension in Senate

In a vote Thursday night, Senate Democrats were unable to overcome the Republic filibuster of the bill that contains the much-needed extension of unemployment benefits. Even though the cost of the bill had been reduced to alleviate the (misguided) concerns of increasing the federal deficit, all Republicans and two Democrats maintained their opposition. This bill would not only extend emergency unemployment benefits, but also provide aid to states for health care costs, and pay for that spending with increased taxes on oil companies and hedge fund managers. Hard to argue with those ideas.