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President Obama last night signed legislation extending benefits under a host of federal programs for jobless people, doctors providing Medicare services and those who live in flood-prone areas, but few key players seemed particularly happy about the $18 billion spending package.

The bill passed the Senate by a 59-38 vote with three Republicans supporting it, and then cleared the House with more bipartisan support in a 289-112 vote. But Republican opponents said it should have been accompanied by offsetting budget cuts, while Democrats said the benefit extensions were an “emergency” requiring the spending. That’s despite “pay-as-you-go” rules that the Dems adopted earlier this year, which have become a political pickle for the majority party, Politico notes this morning.

The bill also extended Cobra health-insurance subsidies helping provide coverage for those losing their jobs and puts off until June 1 the effective date of 21% cuts in Medicare payments to physicians, which were scheduled to kick in yesterday. The AMA said Congress really needed to work on a permanent fix on the repeatedly delayed payment cuts to “avoid a Medicare meltdown for seniors.”

Obama, in remarks about the benefits bill, gave a tip of the hat to Congress for extending added unemployment benefits until June 2. Then he added he wasn’t happy with just that, noting that “as I requested in my budget, I urge Congress to move quickly to extend these benefits through the end of this year.”

There’s more on the package here and here.

Photo: Associated Press

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Medicare Pay Cuts Averted, Cobra Extended — Why All the Sad Faces?