Congressman Sander Levin
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The Detroit News
September 12, 2008 |
Deb Price
Staff Writer |
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Dems Push Worker Relief |
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House bill would extend unemployment benefits and add extra time for those in distressed states like Michigan
House Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to extend unemployment benefits by seven weeks for all states, and on top of that 13 extra weeks for hard-hit states like Michigan with unemployment rates of at least 6 percent.
Eric Mason, who lost his job as a computer technician in December 2007, said he hopes the extension passes to give him more time to find a job.
"Based on what I'm finding out there looking for a job, I need more time," Mason said. "There just aren't enough jobs around."
Michigan's jobless rate is 8.5 percent -- the highest in the country.
Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said Granholm is pushing for the new extension.
"We had pushed for additional weeks for hard-hit states in the earlier extension. We definitely support this. It's absolutely critical for workers dealing with joblessness," Boyd said.
The prospects for the extension are unclear.
Congress might take up the proposal as a stand-alone bill or as part of a second economic stimulus bill. But Congress is scheduled to recess in just over two weeks, underscoring the uphill challenge the extension faces.
President Bush signed a bill that included a 13-week extension of jobless benefits on June 30. Under that extension, about $164 million has been distributed to jobless workers in Michigan, according to the office of Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak.
"We are aware of the legislation and will withhold comment until and if the bill makes it to the floor," said White House spokesman Trey Bohn.
In Michigan, 58,000 jobless workers will have exhausted their regular benefits and the already passed 13-week extension by the end of this year. Levin's office was still in the process of calculating how many jobless workers in Michigan would be eligible for the proposed new extension.
"The number of long-term unemployed is over double what it was in the past recession and economic conditions are worsening," said Levin, a senior Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee.
"Unemployed individuals and their families need federal support while they continue to look hard for work."
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, the co-author of the proposed new extension, said, "Just last week we learned that the national unemployment rate jumped to a staggering 6.1 percent and the economy lost jobs for the eighth straight month. ... This legislation would provide direct relief to families who want to work but are finding a job market that doesn't want to hire."
Rangel said the new proposed extension would distribute $6 billion nationally in extended benefits.
Nearly 800,000 workers across the nation will run out of their current extended benefits in October, Rangel said.
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To Contact Congressman Levin: -
Email Congressman LevinIn Michigan: 27085 Gratiot Ave, Roseville, MI 48066 | (586) 498-7122 | (248) 968-2025
In Washington: 1236 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 | (202) 225-4961
