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Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to extend unemployment benefits for 165,000 eligible workers, displaced by and unemployed as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, for 13 more weeks. U.S. Representative William Jefferson led the charge to urge his colleagues to act urgently before the benefits expire on March 4th.
“Extending these benefits was critically important to the continued recovery for those left without work after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Jefferson said. “We could not allow Americans who lost their jobs, their homes and their lives to those natural and man-made disasters to suffer abandonment by their federal government. I am pleased that my colleagues recognized this need and acted today to prevent these benefits from ending.”
Disaster unemployment benefits were scheduled to end on March 4, 2006. The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent to extend the benefits by 13 weeks and today, the House followed suit. The bill now goes back to the Senate for final consideration and must be signed by the President to take effect.
“This has been a priority for me and I am pleased that my colleagues took action to prevent 165,000 hurricane survivors from being cut off from the benefits they deserve,” Jefferson said. |
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