Republicans Court The Important Wifebeaters Vote

by tristero

And I’ll bet you thought I was kidding:

Days from the end of the legislative session, Florida lawmakers have refused to move a bill to expand unemployment eligibility in order to accept $444 million in federal stimulus aid.

While the Republican-controlled Legislature plans to use as much as $5 billion from the stimulus package to balance the budget, lawmakers balked at moving the unemployment insurance bill out of committee…

The state’s unemployment trust fund is expected to run out of money in August. State officials plan to ask for a federal loan for the fund, and the Legislature is moving ahead with a bill that would increase unemployment taxes on businesses.

Lawmakers are expected to pass a measure that would allow them to use $700 million in stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits for the rest of the year to 250,000 people whose benefits would otherwise expire. But they have been unwilling to make more changes, like offering benefits to those who left work because of domestic violence or the relocation of a spouse.

The Republican Party – defending the right to beat your wife.