Says extension “long overdue”; benefits flow to local economy
 
Now that the Senate has passed an extension of unemployment benefits, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said tonight that the House will likely pass the extension tomorrow morning and send the bill to President Obama, who is expected to sign it immediately.  Previously the House had passed the extension twice, but it had failed in the Senate until tonight.
 
Pingree said the provision passed by the Senate restores benefits that began expiring June 2.  In general, workers who stopped getting benefit checks will be able to file claims and receive the benefits retroactively.
 
“Over 10,000 Mainers have lost this critical benefit because of partisan fighting in Congress,” Pingree said.  “Not only do unemployment checks help families buy basic necessities, but the money from these benefits flows directly into the local economy.  This extension is long overdue.”
 
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says that for every $1 of unemployment benefits paid in a community, $1.90 of economic activity is generated.
 
The bill the House will pass tomorrow morning extends unemployment benefits through November.

Pingree said while helping Maine families make it through difficult economic times is important, Congress must continue to focus on creating new jobs.
 
“Our number one mission has to be creating jobs,” Pingree said.  “We’ve made some progress with tax cuts and investments, but there is much more that we need to do.”
 
The U.S. Treasury reported this week that between February and May of this year 4.5 million workers who had been out of work for at least two months had been hired using a new small business tax break that Congress passed.  (The HIRE tax credit provides considerable tax savings for business that hire unemployed workers.  For example, a business would save about $3,500 over the course of a year when hiring an unemployed worker at a salary of $40,000.)