Senator Tammy Baldwin Supports Bipartisan Action to Extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin is calling on the U.S. Senate to take action on bipartisan legislation she supports to extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
 
“It’s past time to come together on this issue and get something done for the hardworking American people who have lost their jobs and are trying so hard to find new ones,” said Baldwin.  “As of this week, nearly 45,000 Wisconsinites will have lost this critical lifeline since December. Wisconsin’s economy continues to lag behind other states and far too many hard working people are still looking for a job. This bipartisan legislation is fully paid for, will help strengthen our economy, and will help the jobless when they are looking for work.”
 
Baldwin supports the Reed-Heller bipartisan compromise (S. 2149) that is fully paid for and is expected to be taken up in the Senate this week. The legislation seeks to strengthen the U.S. economy while providing vulnerable job seekers and their families with a vital lifeline as they continue to look for work. It reauthorizes Emergency Unemployment Insurance benefits for five months and allows for retroactive payments to eligible beneficiaries going back to December 28th.
 
Approximately 1.3 million workers, including 23,700 Wisconsinites, lost all unemployment benefits when Congress failed to act before the end of December. Without Congressional action, approximately 1,608 Wisconsinites lose their benefits every week.
 
In 2014, 99,000 Wisconsinites are projected to be affected if Emergency Unemployment Compensation is not extended.  Failure to extend these benefits also directly impacts state and local economies.
 
A recent report released by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee shows that more than four million Americans, 37 percent of the unemployed, have been out of work for more than six months, making long-term unemployment one of the most significant challenges of the economic recovery.
 
In addition, a House Ways and Means Committee analysis projected that the expiration of federal unemployment benefits cost the economy over $3 billion in January and February, including over $51 million in Wisconsin.