Senate leadership is planning to pass a stop-gap 15-day unemployment insurance/COBRA subsidy extension this week. The previous extension expires at the end of the month, and states and businesses have already had to start processing notifications for people dropping off the programs. Advocacy groups worry that it's too little and almost too late.
The problem is that even though Congress will likely push back the deadline before extended benefits expire at the end of the month, state unemployment agencies still have to send out letters to benefits recipients informing them that they will be ineligible for the next "tier" of benefits starting after Feb. 28. Without an extension, more than 1 million people will run out of unemployment benefits in March, according to the National Employment Law Project.
And the shortness of the extension guarantees that, in two weeks, workforce agencies will once again have to prepare to send out letters and Congress will once again scramble for another extension.
"Unemployment offices are really really going to have a huge problem," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the NELP. "They can't handle this two-weeks-at-a-time stuff. It keeps them in a constant state of flux. This is going to create more work for them when they can least afford it."
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The progressive Economic Policy Institute's Ross Eisenbrey reminded Sen. Reid in a statement that the unemployment rate is in the double-digit range in most parts of the country.
"Given this grim reality, Senator Reid's announcement that the Senate will debate a 15-day extension of unemployment benefits was disheartening," said Eisenbrey. "The extended benefits program will be needed for another year at least, so a 15-day extension makes no sense. The American people may not be familiar with the arcane rules that are grinding the Senate to a halt, but they are all too familiar with the hardships that this recession has imposed on their families, friends, and neighbors. Senators have got to find a way to move forward to provide help to Americans who are out of work, starting with a 12-month extension of unemployment benefits.
"Waiting until the last minute to vote on an extension has already cost the states millions of dollars and forced them to send cut-off notices to workers receiving unemployment checks. Extending the program for only 15 days will force the states to twist themselves into knots to re-start the program while simultaneously preparing to shut it down again. This is waste and abuse."
A fifteen day extension, while better than nothing, is a logistical nightmare for states. These advocates are speculating that Reid wants to hold the UI/COBRA extensions to use as a vehicle for another jobs bill down the road, because these provisions are critical and unlikely to be voted down. It's important to recognize why we got to this, panicked last minute situation: it's Mitch McConnell's fault. Here he is objecting to an extension of benefits before the Senate went out for Presidents' Day recess.
Obstruction aside, there's got to be a better way for Reid to get some decent jobs initiative passed than messing with unemployment insurance. The Senate needs to pass a long term extension, and do it this week.