SOMERBY MISSED ONE

Bob Somerby of the Daily Howler is critical of the coverage the unemployment part of the stimulus bill is getting but didn't bother to read the bill to fact check one claim by Bobby "The Liar" Jindal. Jindal says that the law requires the States to make a permanent change to State unemployment law but that's not true. The bill requires the States to make changes that are NOT expressly limited in duration. Here's the relevant portion of the bill:

‘‘(B)(i) If the Secretary of Labor finds that the State law provisions (disregarding any State law provisions which are not then currently in effect as permanent law or which are subject to discontinuation) meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be, the Secretary of Labor shall thereupon make a certification to that effect to the Secretary of the Treasury, together with a certification as to the amount of the incentive payment to be transferred to the State account pursuant to that finding. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make the appropriate transfer within 7 days after receiving such certification.