Senate Democrats (and two Republicans) are poised to break a partisan stalemate on Tuesday over extending unemployment benefits.

With everything else stripped out as it should have been all along as I noted in a 6-10-10 post entitled "Senate cuts off a cash spigot opened by Obama when he took office -- Dems should have limited to an extension of unemployment benefits much earlier," it will be good to get this vote behind us.

With everything else take out, I had thought that Sen. Scott Brown would cross party lines in this vote as he did in the financial reform legislation. Maybe he will.

From The New York Times:

Senate Democrats are poised to break a partisan stalemate on Tuesday over extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who have been jobless for six months or more, but the fight seems certain to continue playing out as a defining issue in the midterm elections.

Most Democrats contend that deficit spending is acceptable — even, in economic terms, necessary — to help not only the jobless but also the economy as a whole. Their argument is that unemployed workers will spend all or nearly all of their benefits on goods and services that help support other jobs.

Besides the support of Carte Goodwin, the West Virginian to be sworn in Tuesday to succeed Mr. Byrd, Democrats are counting on the votes of Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe, the two Maine Republicans, to reach the minimum 60 votes needed to overcome the threat of a Republican filibuster.

To ease objections, Democrats have scaled back the unemployment proposal, which originally was to extend through December and included billions of dollars in health insurance subsidies for the unemployed.