Senate Finance will hold hearing on unemployment benefits

Unemployment benefits remain in the spotlight this week as the Senate Finance Committee takes up the issue Wednesday of how to improve the program and possibly turn it into a job-generating system.  

While pushing for the temporary extension of jobless benefits, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said on the Senate floor that his panel will begin consideration of changes to the unemployment insurance system that could "help to create more jobs" and shore up the states' unemployment trust fund accounts.   

"States and experts have a lot of ideas for how we can improve the unemployment insurance system," he said. "They have ideas about who it can save and create more jobs."

"The size of the unemployment insurance system deficit calls for a coordinated state and federal solution," said Doug Holmes recently before the New Jersey legislature. Holmes, who is scheduled to testify before Senate Finance on Wednesday is the president of the Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers Compensation and the National Foundation for Unemployment & Workers' Compensation.

He said most states have deficits so great that it isn't possible to increase state jobless tax rates enough in the next five years to reach solvency levels without jeopardizing job creation efforts that are essential to the economic recovery. Long-term and short-term solutions will be needed to maintain solvency of state unemployment trust fund accounts. 

"Many states and Congress have recognized the need to avoid significant unemployment insurance tax increases in 2010 for the very reason that large increases could put the economic recovery at risk," he said in prepared testimony.