Extension of Jobless Benefits

Posted on November 15, 2010 by townsend

• End of jobless benefits is political plight, By Janet Hook and Sara Murray, November 15, 2010, Wall Street Journal: “Jobless benefits for two million unemployed Americans will begin to expire in two weeks, an issue Congress is ill-prepared to tackle during a packed lame-duck session that is shadowed by growing voter antipathy toward government spending. With the aid for the long-term unemployed due to lapse Nov. 30, Democrats are under heavy pressure to extend the program during the lame duck session because its prospects will likely dim after Republicans gain control of the House in January. The program, which provides aid for up to 99 weeks after workers are laid off, has been extended seven times during the current economic downturn. Democrats are hoping its critics will be loath to allow the benefits to lapse during the holiday season, with the unemployment rate still exceeding 9%. But the last time Congress extended the program, the summertime battle was so pitched that extended benefits lapsed for more than a month as Republicans opposed another extension on the grounds that it would add to the deficit-a concern that has only grown more prominent during and after the midterm elections…”
• Congress’ to-do list includes unemployment help, By Audie Cornish, November 15, 2010, National Public Radio: “Lawmakers have a long list of items to take up in their lame-duck session, and one of the things they could tackle is a federal program extending unemployment benefits for millions of laid-off workers. The money runs out at the end of November. If lawmakers don’t extend those unemployment benefits, millions of people will lose their checks over the next few months. The program funds jobless benefits beyond the 26 weeks that states normally provide. In states with the highest unemployment rates, workers are eligible for more than a year and a half of benefits…”
• Jobless benefits set to end yet again, By Catherine Candisky, November 14, 2010, Columbus Dispatch: “Nearly 40 percent of Ohioans receiving jobless benefits will exhaust their unemployment by the end of December unless Congress agrees to continue funding extended benefits. According to state officials, 115,679 Ohioans will lose their benefits within a month if the program expires Nov. 30. By the end of April 2011, nearly all of the 291,998 receiving aid will fall off the rolls, said Benjamin Johnson, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Congressional Democrats, who will be in the minority in the House and have a diminished majority in the Senate, are considering a three- or six-month extension when lawmakers return to Washington this week for a brief lame-duck session. While some Democrats say they would like to pass a one-year extension, it’s doubtful there will be the votes to accomplish that…”