Unemployment Cut Off
Are the unemployed going to receive another extension or are they going to have to wait for Washington to stop bickering and playing politics again? - Ron, Leominster
It looks like they're going to have to wait because today is the last day Congress has to extend benefits before people start losing them. And it doesn't look like it's going to happen today. If lawmakers don't act, an estimated 2-million Americans will lose benefits by the end of the year. Here in Mass. 60,000 people will lose them next month with an additional 7-8000 per week losing benefits starting in January, according to the State's Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
But wait, you say. Aren't unemployed people eligible for 99 weeks of benefits? Not if Congress doesn't vote the money to pay the benefits. It's a complicated system of extensions on top of extensions, but without authorization, the extensions go away and unemployment benefits revert back to state/federal programs that provide only 26 weeks of benefits. So as people come to the end of their current extensions, they'll be cut off, even if they haven't reached 99 weeks.
Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked the latest effort to extend benefits arguing that the money to pay for those benefits should be offset by cuts in other federal programs. Democrats argue that at the same time, they are arguing in favor of extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
So quite a fight is brewing in the lame duck Congress.
If you are collecting unemployment, the state urges you to continue your weekly filings even if you lose benefits. That way, if Congress eventually approves the extension, you'll be up to date. The state is also posting updates on this website.
What's your opinion? Extend benefits or not?
