Case Study: Successful piece of Legislation Enacted During the Obama Administration - Research Paper Example

In order to combat this increasing rate of unemployment, the government of Barack Obama signed a bill named as the “Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010”. This act has been introduced in the country for the main purpose of reducing the harm of the level of employment in the economy caused by the global financial crises of 2007 and 2009 (Schier, 212). The act has also been implemented for the purpose of creating favorable effects on the development of the US economy with the help of reducing the lack of purchasing power of the unemployed section of the society.

This act has been expected to create an enhanced level of positive effect on the development of aggregate demand for different goods and services in the economy. This has also been expected to increase the overall level of production of the US economy and thus to improve the overall rate of growth of crises-suffered by US economic and financial system (Schier, 214). Under this act, the unemployed people of the country are given unemployment benefits in terms of lumpsum amounts in a yearly basis so that these people can satisfy their needs and demand.

Under this act this has been argued that a person would qualify for the new benefit year where the amount of weekly benefit in terms of regular compensation will be at the minimum level either $100 or 25% lower than the person’s amount of weekly benefit in that particular benefit year (UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2010, 2273). Passing of the Bill and opposition To pass the Bill there was the adoption of general voting in the houses of congress and the final result came as 59-39 in the Senate and the House also voted to pass the Bill which stood at 272-152 (Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 Provisions,2010).

In voting for the bill six Republicans joined the Democrats. Opposition came only from Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska. A partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary exercises to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. According to the President, the Republican leaders in the Senate provided a misguided notion that the emergency relief will discourage the people from looking for a job (President Obama Calls on Republicans to End Obstruction of Unemployment Benefits, Urges Congress to Pass Critical Aid for Millions of Americans).

But the Bill was absolutely necessary to get passed (Senate Passes Bill That Would Extend Unemployment Benefits). Senator Harry Reid criticized the opposition and said that there are almost two million long term unemployed persons in states and further added that, “These are not numbers. They are people” (Senate Passes Bill That Would Extend Unemployment Benefits). Introduction of the Bill President Barack Obama signed P.L. 111-205, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 and introduced it into a new law on July 22, 2010. P.L.

111-205 extended the availability of EUC08 (Emergency Unemployment Compensation 2008) and 100% federal financing of EB (Extended Benefit) until the week ending on or before November 30, 2010 (Isaacs and Whittaker, 12). In a statement Obama said, “I am grateful to senators in both parties who took one more step forward today in getting our nation back on a solid economic footing”