Senator Baldwin Supports Bipartisan Unemployment Extension Legislation

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced today that she is supporting bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV) that would prevent the expiration of unemployment insurance for 1.3 million Americans, including 99,000 Wisconsinites who are out of work and looking for a job.
 
“Our nation’s economy is moving forward but Wisconsin’s economy continues to lag behind other states and far too many hard working people are still looking for a job. Wisconsin’s economy can’t afford the expiration of unemployment insurance because it will cost our economy jobs and slow growth,” Baldwin said, “That is why it is critical that Congress takes action to continue federal support for unemployment insurance and provide a lifeline for Wisconsin families as they search for work in our recovering economy.”
 
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act would reinstate and continue federal support for unemployment insurance (UI), effective January 1, 2014, for an additional three months, preventing the expiration of benefits for 1.3 million Americans. The legislation would effectively extend current UI policy through March 31, 2014 including the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program, Extended Benefits Provisions, and Funding for Reemployment Services and Reemployment and Eligibility Assessments. The bill would allow all states to continue federal unemployment insurance without a lapse from January 1, 2014. The bill would also allow any state whose agreement was previously terminated in 2013 to enter into a new agreement with the Department of Labor for Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
 
In 2014, if Emergency Unemployment Compensation is not extended, 99,000 Wisconsinites are projected to be affected. According to the Wisconsin Budget Project, since Congress has failed to take action before the end of the year, nearly 24,000 jobless workers in Wisconsin will abruptly lose all of their unemployment income at the end of December. Some 41,800 additional workers will exhaust their state-funded 26 weeks of unemployment benefits in the first half of 2014 and will be denied access to federal unemployment benefits.