With unemployment still rising, and the unemployment rate well over 8% in each of the 4 counties represented by Scott Garrett (including over 11% in Passaic), you would think that for once, Garrett wouldn’t spit in the faces of his constituents. But if you think that, you would be wrong. Again.

After the Senate voted 98-0 to extend unemployment benefits, the House voted yesterday by a margin of 403-12 to extend unemployment benefits to those workers who (1) lost their jobs, (2) still can’t find another job and (3) have been out of work for so long that their unemployment benefits have run out. As usual, Scott Garrett was one of the 12 heartless Reps who would rather see tax cuts to corporations than help keep food on the plates of those who he claims to represent. This is far from the first time Garrett has done this – this year alone, he voted against the largest middle class tax cut in history as well as expanding unemployment benefits to a larger pool of people who are in need.

Yet, time and time again, he talks nonsense about “letting people keep more of their hard earned money” as he votes against pretty much every single bill that is supposed to help families in his district actually earn money or just get by. What Garrett fails to realize, or even worse – he does realize but just doesn’t care – is that when people have no job and no unemployment benefits, there is no money for them to keep more of.

It is votes like this that make me outraged and ashamed that someone this heartless or clueless is “representing” me.

Courtesy of the Record’s Herb Jackson.

REP. Scott Garrett was one of 12 House members to vote against an extension of unemployment benefits and homebuyer tax credits that got 403 “yes” votes on Thursday. The Senate unanimously approved the bill, HR3548, a day earlier.

Garrett did not issue any statement explaining his vote. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee issued a news release attacking him for it.

The bill extends expired unemployment benefits another 14 weeks, and continues through April 30 the tax credit of up to $8,000 for new home buyers.

A surcharge on the employer unemployment tax that was due to expire next year was extended as well, so the Congressional Budget Office estimated that $2.6 billion bill would not increase the deficit.