Salt Lake Tribune | 2001-11-23 | Page 16

Al6 The Salt Lake Tribune NATION_ Friday, November 7 Jobless Benefits Caught in Congressional Fight -As unemployment “grows,it becomes xkey political issue = BYBRIANTUMULTY RTT NEWS SERVICE secretary of employment and training at the Labor Depart ment, described the federal trust fundsas “in exceptionally good position” to handle a recession. “They are in surplus. And September states have a wide range in weekly benefits, from a maximum of $715 a week in Massachusetts to $190 a weekin Alabama and Mississippi. “Sadly, surance benefitits today are of ten insufficient to meet basic for unemployed workers to qualify for extended benefits. The state’s October unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent. Other states may qualify sooner for extended benefits we have very recently been discussing various proposals to under the existing federal trigger of 6.5 percent unemploy- effect a distribution of those surplus dollars to the states,” ment. Oregon's rate is nearly there now, with a 6.3 percent needs such as paying the rent or putting food on the table,” Sen. Edward Kennedy, Mass., said recently. D- DeRocco said. The surplus would allow sending an addi jobless rate. unemployed workers received tional $4billion annuallyto the adding weekly jobless states over 10 years, she said. workers to the state’s three- since Sept. 11 to increase Senate Democrats want to use that moneyto expandeli. month moving average would benefits. The maximum weekly benefit in California will increase from $230 to $330 for peoplefil- = WASHINGTON Only about 37 percent of the nation’s benefits last month, according to the Labor Department. Thefact that 2.6 million people got unemployment checks gibility to an estimated 600,000 part-time and low-wage work: In the state of Washington, 8,000 more jobless trigger extended benefits, said Gary Kamimura, a spokesman for the state Employment Security Department. not eligible, failed to apply, ers not eligible for benefits in most states and provide 13 were stuck in a one-week wa’ weeks of federally paid ex. ing periodor exhaustedthei weeks of payments a key el ment of the congressional de- tended benefits to the unem. Under the White House proposal, the state’s unemployment rate would have to jump ployed nationwide. to 7.7 percent to qualify, Ka- while 4.5 million either were The number of Americans bate over aneconomicstimulus unemployed for 27 weeks or package. more roseto 888,000 in October, an increase of 235,000 from three monthsearlier. But the Bush adminis! Muchofthe debate has been over tax cuts favored by Re- publicans versus increased spending favored by Democrats for homeland security and the unemployed. » The unemployment compo- ~nent andbothparties gener“ally agree there should be one — would draw mostly from existing federal trust funds totaling $38.8 billion that are dedi- cated to administration of unemployment programs, federal loans*to the states and the ex tended benefit program. Emily DeRocco, assistant tion has proposed a more lim: ited approach. The White House is not backing enhanced eligibility. And it would limit the use of federally paid extended unemployment benefits to only those states where there is a 30 percent increase in unemployment. That would mean Wisconsin, for example, wouldhave to register an I rate of 5.2 percent a 30 percent increase from 4 percent in mimurasaid. Rick McHugh, Midwest coordinator for the National Employment Law Project, a group advocating improved unem- ployment benefits, noted that a nationwide expansion of extended benefits was approved during the last recession in 1991. “If they act now, the re- cession will be shorter andless severe,” hesaid. Congressional Democrats also have proposed a federal weekly benefit supplement of at least $25 or 15 percent of the state-paid benefit. Individual Virginia, California and the District ofColumbia have acted ing new claims beginning Jan. 6, 2002. Virginia and Washington, D.C., recently increased weekly benefits retroactive to the September terrorist attacks. The Employment Policy Foundation, a Washington think tank supported by employers, recently warned that the Senate Democratic plan would deplete federal unemploymenttrust funds and leave state unemployment systems vulnerable to collapse if unemployment continues to rise in 2002 and 2003. The national unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent in October from 4.9 percent in September. “Unemployment could get as high as 6.5 percent and will continueto rise after.the recession is over,” said Edward Potter, president of the foundation. He: suggested that Congress and the i extension ion limit the of unemployment benefits to people wholost their jobs after Sept. 11 to conserve the trustfunds. For Senate Democrats, unemployment benefits — and providing aid in helping the jobless pay for health insurance premiums — are a key bargaining point in any eco- nomic stimulus package to be negotiated with the Republican-controlled House and the White House after the Thanksgiving recess. The House Republican plan that passed 216-214 would simply give the states $9 billion from the overflowing federal unemployment trust funds with no requirementthat benefits be enhanced. Some states need federal help just to keep operating their unemployment programs because they failed to build up enough reserves to weather a recession despite a decade-long that drove unemployment to its lowest level in a generation. Four states — Texas, North Dakota, New YorkandIllinois — hadless than a six-month reserve in their trust funds as of June 30, accordingto the Labor Department. NewYork, which cut unemployment payroll taxes 27 per- cent in 1998, now is asking for $260 million in immediate federal aid to cope with the jump in unemployment resulting from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But moststates have enough trust fund reserves to handle an 11-month recession. New Hampshire, Delaware, Vermontand New Mexico have at least two years of reserves to pay unemploymentbenefits. YOUDECIDE! WORLDS... tneGIFTS! 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