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Rep. McDermott Introduces Legislation to Extend Unemployment Benefits
July 30, 2009
Beginning in September, hundreds of thousands of Americans will begin to exhaust their unemployment benefits every month unless Congress acts, and today Rep. Jim McDermott, chairman of the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee, did just that. McDermott, whose subcommittee oversees the nation’s UI system, introduced legislation today, H.R. 3404, to extend UI benefits. It builds upon prior legislation by McDermott that was overwhelmingly passed on a bipartisan basis last year in response to the national economic crisis.
“Today there are at least five Americans looking for employment for every one available job and without extended benefits there will be a gaping hole in the economic lifeboat these Americans are in through no fault of their own; I don’t intend to let that happen,” Rep. McDermott said.
The legislation will add an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits for workers in states where the overall unemployment rate on a three-month rolling average is at or above 9%; as of today, 20 states plus the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico, would qualify. In addition, the legislation would continue provisions in the Recovery Act that are now set to phase out at the end of the year, including provisions providing extended benefits and increasing the amount of the weekly UI check by $25. An overview of the legislation follows.
Already the legislation has garnered 20 original co-sponsors including Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel. Rep. McDermott said he will push for quick passage in the House in early September to ensure that UI benefits continue to flow uninterrupted to those affected.
“This is a time when people need to know in word and deed that their government is standing by their side during this economic crisis,” Rep. McDermott said.
A copy of the legislation is attached.
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009
The legislation would continue several current-law unemployment compensation programs through 2010 (without this extension, these programs would begin to phase-out at the end of 2009). The programs continued by the bill include:
- Emergency Unemployment Compensation or EUC, which provides up to 33 weeks of extended benefits to workers exhausting their regular unemployment benefits.
- 100% federal funding for Extended Benefits or EB, which provides up to an additional 20 weeks of extended benefits in high unemployment States.
- Federal Additional Compensation or FAC, which increases unemployment benefits by $25 a week.
The legislation also would provide an additional 13 weeks of EUC benefits in States with a three-month average total unemployment rate of at least 9 percent or an insured unemployment rate of at least 6 percent.
- Under current unemployment rates, this provision would extend benefits for an estimated one million workers who would otherwise run out of benefits by the end of the year in States with high unemployment.
- States that now meet the required trigger for additional weeks of benefits include AL, CA, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MS, NV, NC, OH, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, WA, & WI. Additionally, a number of other States are within one percentage point of this standard and may meet it within the coming months, including AK, AZ, DE, ME, MA, MO, NJ, NY & WV. States with lower unemployment rates may still trigger additional weeks under the current EUC and EB programs if unemployment rates rise.
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