Governor Corbett Signs Bill To Extend Unemployment Benefits Another 13 Weeks
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- Governor Corbett has signed a bill sent to his desk Friday that will allow 45,000 Pennsylvanians to receive another 13 weeks of federally-funded unemployment compensation benefits.
Action on the bill, passed in its final form by the House Thursday and the Senate Friday, went down to the wire because of disagreements about language in the measure to reform the state's unemployment compensation system. But the sponsor, Republican Senator John Gordner, says the immediate impact will be to maintain benefits for thousands of Pennsylvanians that have already exhausted 72 weeks of benefits.
"Those federally-funded benefits will continue for those 45,000 individuals and an additional 90,000 individuals through the end of this calendar year.”"
While the bill does contain reforms to the state system that will result in average savings of $114 million a year, Pennsylvania is already on the hook for more than $3.5 billion its borrowed from the federal unemployment compensation trust fund.
Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio
