Michigan and other hardest-hit states would receive 20-week extension of benefits

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), along with several of her colleagues, today announced legislation to extend unemployment benefits. This legislation will provide a seven-week extension of unemployment insurance to people who have exhausted their current benefits and still cannot find work. States with a 6% unemployment rate or higher will be given an additional 13 weeks of benefits. This legislation comes on the heels of a recent report by the Department of Labor citing Michigan’s latest unemployment rate at a staggering 8.9%.

“Our economy has endured eight years of the failed economic policies of a Republican administration with a philosophy that simply doesn’t work. It is clear that the fundamentals of our economy are not strong,” said Stabenow. “Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and from coast to coast, middle-class families are struggling to put food on the table and make ends meet as we face record job loss. This extension of unemployment insurance will not only provide support to families who need it most, but it is one of the fastest, most effective ways to stimulate the economy.”

Aside from Michigan, twelve other states are expected to receive the full 20-weeks of assistance. These states include: Alaska, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

According to a recent report by the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy lost 84,000 jobs in August and 605,000 jobs since January. Without any additional unemployment insurance, over one million Americans are estimated to run out of current extended benefits by the end of the year. In Michigan, 419,000 people who are currently unemployed and many are expected to exhaust current benefits by the end of the year.

In addition to Senator Stabenow fourteen other Senate colleagues joined Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) in sponsoring this bill.