Bill before Congress would extend unemployment benefits 13 weeks

09.21.09
By Timothy Jones

With millions of Americans out of work and facing trouble paying off credit card debt and their home loans, Congress is considering legislation which would extend unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks in the hope that many people will be able to survive until the economy improves.

The bill, which is expected to be voted on tomorrow, was proposed by Washington Congressman Jim McDermott and would give jobless residents in states with an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher 13 additional weeks of benefits.

McDermott says the bill would help more than 300,000 workers who are expected to have their benefits cut off by the end of September along with more than 1 million who might lose benefits by the end of 2009.

According to the McDermott, residents in 27 states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico would see their unemployment benefits extended for 13 weeks and the Washington Democrat says the bill would not add to the federal deficit because it is offset by the federal unemployment tax and limits unemployment insurance overpayment.

But some say further extensions will need to be made as the unemployment rate continues to rise and more people exhaust their unemployment benefits.

Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, told the Associated Press that 5 million people - one-third of the unemployment figure- have been out of work for six months and he believes Congress will need to keep extending benefits into 2011.

The unemployment rate for August reached 9.7 percent but figures from the Labor Department last week showed that weekly unemployment claims inched down for the week ending September 12.

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People out of work might be getting more help from the government