GOP push to attach amendments to unemployment bill fails

WASHINGTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Republicans in the Senate have spent the week railing against Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has refused to allow additional amendments to a bill that would restore unemployment insurance payments to long-term jobless.

But a deal that would attach a "catch-all" amendment, pushed by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that included several pet Republican issues meant to boost job creation, fell apart shortly before a cloture bill was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The amendment would have included approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, set up a vote on a paycheck equality bill, a proposal to block new carbon emissions rules for coal-fired plants, ditching the medical device tax under the Affordable Care Act and eliminates language in the healthcare law that defines workers as those who work at least 30 hours a week.

The Senate is voting Thursday for cloture to end debate and any chance of a filibuster. Previous test votes got the support of a handful of Republicans, enough to eke by.