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House Democrats introduce bill to extend unemployment benefits for three months
House Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to extend emergency unemployment benefits for three months, the first move made by either chamber to address the issue.
House Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, introduced the bill that would extend federal benefits -- up to 99 weeks in some states for those who have exhausted their state unemployment insurance -- through Feb. 28.
"Without quick action, the last economic lifeline for 2 million Americans will be cut off during the holidays," Levin said in a statement.
The House could take up the bill this week before leaving for the weeklong Thanksgiving recess but it's still unclear when the legislation will come up.
The Senate hasn't put forth a plan yet although Sen. Jeff Merkeley (D-Ore.) said this morning that an extension could be combined with tax extenders legislation that would include the 2001 and 2003 Bush-era tax cuts.
"We may see a complex package we may have to evaluate," he said on a conference call this morning with reporters.
Still, any package including unemployment benefits will be difficult to push through before the end of the month with lawmakers expected to leave town Friday. Congress returns to Washington on Nov. 29.
Without the extension, about 2 million workers will lose their benefits by the end of the year, according to figures from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).
Democrats in the House have one last chance to push through an extension, the last of which was for six months and expires Nov. 30.
It's unlikely that Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) would continue the extension beyond March.
The legislation won't satisfy supporters of an extension off Capitol Hill who are urging lawmakers to pass a yearlong extension based on concerns that the jobless rate is expected to remain elevated through 2011. The estimated cost for a one-year extension is $65 billion.
Opponents have argued that not paying for the benefits adds to the growing deficit. Historically, benefits are continued until the unemployment rate has dropped significantly. The national unemployment rate stood at 9.6 percent in October.
Benefits lapsed during the summer for nearly 3 million people who had been out of work for at least six months while Senate Republicans held up the measure over concerns that the $34 billion bill wasn't paid for and would add to the deficit.
"The unemployed in this country face a grim holiday season if we don’t act quickly," McDermott said. "In 75 years we have never cut federal unemployment benefits when the unemployment rate has been this high. We cannot allow benefits to expire at a time when millions of Americans are just trying to put food on the table."
Supporters say that offsetting the benefits reduces their stimulative benefits.
Jobless benefits have pumped nearly $7 billion into the economy every month this year, said Christine Owens, executive director of NELP, during a conference call this morning.
"Americans understand how critical these benefits are, and that’s why they strongly support continuing these programs," she said. "Congress should show the same understanding and decisiveness and quickly reauthorize these programs to avoid a catastrophe right in the midst of the holiday season.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report today that found that unemployment benefits increase consumer demand and spending, while preventing people from falling out of the labor market.
"The extensions of unemployment insurance benefits in the past few years increased both employment and participation in the labor force over what they would otherwise have been in 2009," the report said.
In addition, a September Census Bureau report found that jobless benefits prevented 3.3 million Americans from falling into poverty.
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