Quote:
Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND
No %$%$%$%$. it's frustrating that both sides hem and haw until they have a month left and then try to get something done.
It is unfortunate that we have two largely unfunded wars ongoing, but we can't extend unemployment at least through the holidays....
|
the Repubs are willing to extend but want money used that is already been allocated elsewhere and is not being used rather than going further into debt....
I found this interesting
Unemployment Extension Battle In Washington Will Affect Only A Few In Connecticut
By MARA LEE,
maralee@courant.com
The Hartford Courant
November 29, 2010
Last summer, Republicans in the Senate blocked long-term unemployment benefits for 51 days, and in the first month, almost 2.2 million people stopped getting checks. Eventually, they were paid for the time during the gap.
The same program expires today, and advocates for the unemployed estimate that another 2 million people will stop getting checks in December if Congress doesn't vote to renew it before representatives go home for Christmas.
Republicans in the House voted against the $12.5 billion program last week because cuts were not made elsewhere in the budget to offset it. The Senate has not yet voted.
In Connecticut,
few of the nearly 80,000 people who have been getting unemployment checks for more than six months would be affected because of the way state laws interact with the patchwork of federal extensions. (Almost 60 percent of the state's unemployed have been out of work for more than six months.)
Compensation for the first six months of unemployment comes from a fund paid by employers and managed by the state. The next year and a week of checks are paid by the federal government, but the time was added piecemeal as unemployment rates climbed.
When the legislation expires people don't get kicked off immediately, but as they reach the end of each segment, anywhere from one to 20 weeks from now.In states like New York, that means their checks dry up. And that will affect a few hundred New York residents who used to work in Connecticut.
But in Connecticut, unemployed in
those segments, almost 60,000 people, will transition to an emergency program that's not part of the extension legislation, with 20 more weeks of coverage. It had been paid 100 percent by the federal government, but after the deadline, it becomes half-state, half-federal.
A few Connecticut residents will lose checks sooner, according to Chris Gilly, an operational support manager at the Department of Labor.
"
I'd say it's in the dozens. It's not a large number of people," he said. "You couldn't say nobody's benefits will cease."
Those residents did a little temporary work in the past year, and didn't earn enough to qualify for unemployment, he said.
Copyright © 2010, The Hartford Courant
Related storiesAround the Web
Jobless Benefits Cutoff Begins for 2 Million Americans|aolnews.com
E-mail Print Digg Twitter Facebook StumbleUpon Share
Comments (0)Add comments | Discussion FAQ
Currently there are no comments. Be the first to comment!
Free newsletters! Sign up for Breaking News, Huskies, Weekender, Midday Business and more.