Obama Signs Unemployment Insurance Extension Bill into Law

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Jay Sumner

This morning, President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (H.R. 3548) into law.  Originally titled the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, this Act will extend by 14 weeks unemployment benefits in all 50 states. Those states with high, sustained rates of unemployment – averaging at least 8.5 % over a three-month period – will receive up to 20 additional weeks of benefits.

The Senate approved this measure by a vote of 98-0 on November 4. Although the House had approved a less expansive version of this bill in September, it voted 403-12 to pass the Senate’s amended version on November 5. Despite Congress’s overwhelming approval of this legislation, final passage was delayed several weeks when a number of senators sought to include amendments that were unrelated to unemployment.  The amendments the Senate eventually agreed to incorporate in the final bill extend through April 30, 2010 the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit, and allow businesses to apply their 2008 or 2009 operating losses to any five years prior to 2008, enabling them to receive tax refunds for those years. Those businesses that accepted funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) would be ineligible for this tax relief. In addition, the Act contains provisions updating the Unemployment Insurance Modernization provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to allow victims of sexual assault who have left their job to be eligible for benefits under the “compelling family reasons” clause. This measure is funded by extending the employer-paid Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) surtax until June 30, 2011.

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Senators Introduce Unemployment Benefits Extension Bill that Would Apply to All 50 States

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Jay Sumner

Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) have introduced a new bill, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (S.A. 2668 to H.R. 3548), that would extend unemployment insurance benefits for individuals in all 50 states. Under the terms of this legislation, unemployed workers would receive up to 14 weeks of additional benefits. Those in states with unemployment rates above 8.5 % would be entitled to an additional 6 weeks of benefits. The measure would be funded by extending through June 30, 2011, the Federal Unemployment Tax assessed on employers.

According to a press release issued from Sen. Reid’s office, the bill would also update the Unemployment Insurance Modernization provision in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ( “ARRA” or the “Economic Stimulus Package”) to allow victims of sexual assault who have left their job to be eligible for benefits under the “compelling family reasons” clause. Additionally, the legislation specifies that railroad workers facing expiring unemployment benefits would be eligible for additional weeks.

This measure is intended as a substitute for the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (H.R. 3548), which would have extended unemployment benefits for 13 weeks only in states with high persistent unemployment (8.5% on a rolling three-month average). The original bill passed the House of Representatives last month, but stalled in the Senate when lawmakers from states with unemployment rates that did not exceed the requisite threshold cried foul. Sen. Shaheen – who led the chorus of disenchantment by writing a letter to the Senate urging that benefits be extended in all 50 states – co-authored the new bill.

Given the current state of the economy and mounting unemployment rates, this measure is expected to receive widespread support in both houses of Congress.

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