Don Nickles: “I appreciate the gracious remarks of my colleague from Nevada. On the bill presented to the Senate last week, it has not…”

“I appreciate the gracious remarks of my colleague from Nevada. On the bill presented to the Senate last week, it has not been marked up in the committee, has not been reported out of committee. We have a preliminary analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, and the cost estimate is $17.1 billion in Fiscal Year 2003. On the floor last week, it was estimated by proponents, the Senator from Minnesota, the cost was $10 to $12 to $13 billion. In other words, they did not know. They are trying to pass it so quickly, they did not know how much it would cost. It has not been studied. This proposal is reportedly an extension of unemployment benefits, extending provisions that expire at the end of December. It was being portrayed as a 6 month extension. But when I looked at the details, I found we are using completely different triggers, among other differences. What does that mean for someone who does not follow this debate? It means more States qualify for more Federal benefits.”