WASHINGTON -- Today, Congressman Tim Bishop voted to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who have lost their jobs and had difficulty finding work in the Bush recession. The legislation extends unemployment insurance (UI) through November 30, 2010 and retroactively restores benefits to people who may have started losing them as early as the end of May—some after just 26 weeks.
After weeks of delay by obstructionist Congressional Republicans, the House voted 272-152 for final passage of the bill. The President is expected to sign this crucial lifeline into law as quickly as possible.
“Relief for Americans who have lost their job through no fault of their own injects much-needed cash into local economies,” said Congressman Bishop, noting that a recent study by Moody's Analytics found that every dollar spent by the government on benefits for the unemployed produces an overall return of $1.61 for the economy. “The recession is an economic emergency and Americans struggling to find work deserve help as we recover.”
On July 1st, the House passed the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act under simple majority rules, 270-153. Senate Republicans filibustered the bill, demanding that the $34 billion cost of emergency relief for jobless Americans be offset in the budget. The Senate approved an amended extension Wednesday, sending it back to the House for today’s vote. Nearly 2.5 million Americans had lost their benefits before the extension was approved.
In recent weeks, Republican leaders have embraced a permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts that disproportionately benefit wealthy Americans without offsetting the cost, adding trillions to the deficit over ten years. “Claiming it's fiscally responsible to hold up unemployment extension while supporting a new round of tax cuts for the wealthy is playing politics with the needs of the American people,” Bishop said.