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Boehner Still Cool to Senate Unemployment Extension Bill

Speaker John A. Boehner reiterated Tuesday that the Senate’s bipartisan unemployment insurance proposal would not likely be taken up by the House, even if the Senate passes it later this week.  

The Ohio Republican did not rule out bringing up a proposal of his own, but said he will wait to see whether the Senate passes the bill.  

“I told the president I would consider this as long as it was paid for and as long as there were provisions attached that would actually help the economy and help people get back to work. Those conditions have not been met,” he said.  

As he did in a blog post last week , Boehner noted the objections of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, which warned the Senate’s retroactive bill could take months to implement  and lead to a large number of improper payments.  

Sen. Rob Portman told CQ Roll Call Monday that he has reached out to Ohio’s employment officials to try and address Boehner’s concerns. Portman, a fellow Ohio Republican, could be the 60th vote on the Senate bill later this week.  

Last week, Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez vouched for the Senate bill , saying he was confident it could be implemented.

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