Dems push aid for jobless

July 1, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Unable to deliver more stimulus spending for President Barack Obama, Democrats in Congress are trying at least to restore jobless benefits for 1.3 million laid-off workers.

Democrats in both the House and Senate planned to vote on bills today that would extend unemployment benefits through the end of November for people who have been laid off for long stretches. House Democrats postponed a vote scheduled for Wednesday. Democratic leaders were hoping to pass the extension before Congress goes on a weeklong July Fourth recess.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, Ohio, said Congress shouldn’t adjourn for the July 4 holiday weekend without passing an extension of unemployment insurance.

“Every day Americans don’t receive unemployment insurance is another day more American workers and families will slip into poverty,” he said. “That’s not only a human tragedy; it’s an economic blow our country can’t afford.”

Without an extension, every week a new 200,000 of the nearly 7 million people who have been without a job for at least six months will lose their unemployment benefits. About 1.3 million already have lost benefits since the last extension ran out at the end of May, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said.

Congressional Democrats began the year with an aggressive agenda of passing a series of bills designed to create jobs. Only one has become law, offering tax breaks to companies that hire unemployed workers. Others stalled as lawmakers, after hearing from angry voters, became wary of adding to the national debt, which stands at $13 trillion.

Obama has urged lawmakers to spend about $50 billion to help states pay for Medicaid programs and to avoid teacher layoffs, but Democrats in Congress have been unable to come up with the votes.

“This is crucial for America and crucial to the citizens of our states,” Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said at a Washington, D.C., news conference with governors from New York, Maryland, Washington, Kansas, Washington and Michigan.

Rendell said Pennsylvania stands to lose $850 million in Medicaid money. Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson said his state might have to lay off 3,600 teachers.

Many Democrats see state aid and unemployment benefits as insurance against the economy’s sliding back into recession. Solis said extending benefits for the unemployed is a good way to stimulate the economy.

However, many Republicans and some Democrats worry about adding to the growing national debt.

The Democrats’ unemployment bill would provide up to a total of 99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out. The benefits would be available through the end of November, at a cost of $33.9 billion.

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he offered to support the bill if it was paid for with unspent stimulus money.