Senate Mulls Jobless Benefit Extension For All States-Source
By Corey Boles, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Senate lawmakers are working on a proposal to extend
unemployment insurance benefits to all unemployed people, according to a senior
aide to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.
The aide said that it was unclear when a decision would be made to bring an
emergency extension of assistance for unemployed Americans, nor for how many
weeks the measure would extend benefits.
House lawmakers this week approved a measure extending benefits for people
living in states with average unemployment rates of 8.5% over three months. This
would benefit people living in 25 states, according to House Democratic aides.
The House bill provides an additional 13 weeks to long-term unemployed people
living in the hardest hit states, bringing the total federal assistance to those
people to 46 weeks.
If the Senate takes up the more generous extension, lawmakers of both chambers
would have to reach agreement about the final wording of any legislation.
Any move by the Senate finance panel to move benefits extension legislation
would likely have to wait until after the committee concludes consideration of
health-care legislation. Lawmakers are in their second day of debate on the
sweeping legislation.
-By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6601; corey.boles@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-23-091810ET
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