Posted on Fri, Nov. 6, 2009
WASHINGTON - Congress yesterday decisively passed a bill that would extend unemployment benefits for almost two million people out of work nearly a year or more as the United States continues to lose jobs.
The White House quickly announced that President Obama would sign the bill today. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi characterized it as a lifeline "to the men and women hardest hit by the recession," the people who still cannot find work even as the economy shows signs of coming back to life.
The measure cleared the House, 403-12, yesterday, a day after it won unanimous support in the Senate. It would extend benefits for 14 weeks for all those who have exhausted their federal aid or will do so by the end of the year. Those living in states where the unemployment rate is at 8.5 percent or above would get an additional six weeks.
The unemployed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are among the Americans that would receive the extended benefits. The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is 8.8 percent. In New Jersey, it is 9.8 percent, which is also the national jobless rate.
The fourth extension passed by Congress in the last 18 months would stretch federal aid to a maximum of 99 weeks, well beyond the extent of government intervention during past economic downturns. During the 1970s, those out of work were entitled to up to 65 weeks of assistance.
The latest congressional action comes as the prospects for those out of work remains bleak despite signs of economic recovery. New job-market figures are coming out today, and economists are expecting tens of thousands of new job losses.
The legislation also included several tax credits designed to get the economy back on track: It would extend for seven months the $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers that is set to expire this month and would expand that program with a $6,500 credit for purchases by homeowners who have lived in their current residences at least five years.
It also would expand a law providing refunds for money-losing businesses that paid taxes on profits in the last five years.
Supporters cited sobering figures in stressing the need for the unemployment measure: more than a third of the 15 million jobless have been looking for work for six months or more, a record level; and 7,000 people are exhausting their benefits daily.
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