The Senate voted yesterday to restore emergency financial benefits for the long-term unemployed, the first in a series of moves planned by both parties in coming weeks to court core voters this fall, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The jobless-aid bill — which passed on a bipartisan 59-38 vote — is just one plank of what Democrats call their fairness agenda, which also includes a measure to promote equal pay for women, up for a vote likely on Wednesday, and another to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, after the spring recess that begins next week. None of these measures are likely to pass the Republican-controlled House.
