President Obama pushes unemployment benefits

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President Obama is back in Washington and back to business, determined to hit the reset button and make 2014 the political success 2013 was not.

The first test is a battle over extending long-term unemployment benefits. Democrats support it but Republicans want cuts to off-set the cost of paying out the benefits. It's back from vacation and onto the next battle for President Obama. Getting benefit checks to the long-term unemployed after Congress failed to pass an extension before the holidays.

“Let's get them done right now in a bipartisan way and everybody can share credit for doing it.”

House Republicans want the $6.5 billion cost offset with cuts to other government programs.

It's a concession Democrats see little reason to accept convinced Republicans come off as insensitive to struggling Americans, and so the Senate is considering a bill, co-sponsored by Nevada Republican Dean Heller, which does not cover that price tag, extending benefits for the long-term unemployed for three months.

“They're trying to make ends meet from month to month. Today there's only one job opening for every three people searching. We have never had so many unemployed for such a long period of time.”

The push for extending what are known as "emergency" unemployment benefits is part of a new populist push by President Obama and congressional Democrats that also includes a plan to increase the federal minimum wage from 7.25 to 10.10 an hour. That could have a tremendous boost in a lot of the cities where there are a lot of service workers who get up and do some of the critical work for all of us every single day but often times still find themselves just barely above poverty or, in some cases, below poverty.

It's seen as an attempt to rally the Democratic base ahead of a midterm election when many moderate Democrats are vulnerable in Alaska, North Carolina, Louisiana and Arkansas.

Their success or failure will determine if Democrats hold on to the Senate or if President Obama’s second term agenda is stymied by Republicans controlling both Chambers of Congress in his final two years in the White House.