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| Wilson Votes Continue Federal Assistance to Jobless |
January 08, 2003 |
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Bill Ensures Seamless Payments to Beneficiaries
Washington, DC-Congresswoman Heather Wilson voted today to ensure that jobless New Mexicans already receiving federal benefits see no interruption in their unemployment assistance. The Unemployment Benefits Extension Act passed in the Senate on Tuesday and sailed through the House today by a vote of 416 to 4.
“Our focus is on helping families get back on their feet, and this legislation will ensure we don’t pull the rug out from under them as people look for work,” says Wilson. “We want to create an environment that allows for job creation so that people aren’t forced to rely on jobless benefits. That will be a main focus for me throughout the 108th Congress. But in the meantime, there are thousands of people who, on Friday, will now continue to receive while they continue to look for work.”
The federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program was enacted in May 2002 and provided 13 weeks of federal unemployment benefits to all States. The program made benefits available to workers who have lost their jobs since March 15, 2001. Though the program expired on December 28, 2002, passage of this bill will work retroactively to ensure that there is no lapse in unemployment compensation. According to the federal Department of Labor, had the extension not expired on December 28, the next scheduled payment to the states would have been on Friday, January 10. As long as the bill is passed by Congress and signed by the President by Thursday, payments can still be made on Friday.
The bill also has a phase-out period to cover individuals who have exhausted their regular benefits (26 weeks) but have not exhausted their temporarily extended benefits before the designated cut-off date of June 1, 2003. This guarantees each beneficiary the maximum benefit duration. For example, an individual who exhausted the regular 26 weeks of unemployment on May 30 and therefore qualified for an extended 13 weeks of coverage would not be cut off on June 1. Instead, he or she will receive an additional 13 weeks of benefits.
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