U.S. renews extended jobless benefits

WASHINGTON – Rhode Island and other states with higher-than-average jobless rates will get additional federal assistance under a fresh extension of unemployment benefits that yesterday cleared Congress by “overwhelming” margins and already has been signed into law.

“This legislation will provide $6 billion worth of assistance to help job seekers nationwide who are struggling to make ends meet while they look for work in an increasingly difficult job market,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, who introduced the measure this fall together with Barack Obama, D-Ind., who later resigned his Senate seat after becoming the nation’s president-elect.

The new measure – the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008, signed this morning by President George W. Bush – extends the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program. It replaces the soon-to-expire extension signed into law on June 30. (READ MORE)

“The bill provides seven weeks of unemployment insurance for eligible unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits, and an additional 13 weeks of benefits to job seekers in states like Rhode Island that have unemployment rates above the national average,” Reed said in a statement last night.
Without it, he added, nearly 1.2 million Americans would exhaust their unemployment benefits this year. Last month alone, benefits ran out for more than 750,000 workers nationwide.
“As we approach the holiday season, the legislation we passed today provides targeted assistance to people who are looking for work and another needed layer of unemployment benefits as jobs are becoming scarcer,” Reed said.
“This is a wise investment of federal dollars that will help families and shore up the state’s unemployment trust fund, which is critical to ensuring solvency,” he added, noting that every $1 the federal government invests in unemployment insurance adds $1.64 to the gross domestic product (GDP).
“Economists agree extending benefits is one of the most effective ways to stimulate the economy,” Reed said. “This money will be spent on basic necessities like groceries, rent, fuel and medicine – and it gets pumped right back into the economy and our communities.”
An mp3 audio recording of a speech by U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, discussing his efforts to help Rhode Island job-seekers and replenish the state unemployment insurance fund, is available at demradio.senate.gov.

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