June 09, 2006   SOME KATRINA VICTIMS GET A BREAK ON UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS Lieberman Letter Spurs Department of Labor to Extend Benefits To People Who Quit Temproary Jobs to Return Home   Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Friday hailed a Labor Department decision to extend unemployment benefits to Katrina victims who quit temporary jobs in order to return home and rebuild their lives. In a March 9, 2006, letter to Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chou, Lieberman asked the Department to review its policies denying disaster unemployment assistance to anyone who had accepted an interim job before deciding to return home. Lieberman argued the federal government should make every effort to help the four in 10 families displaced by the hurricane that want to return home and the one in four people who already have returned home. The Labor Department informed Senator Lieberman Friday that it reviewed its policy and decided to extend benefits to those people. “The Labor Department’s decision will help thousands of families get back on their feet back in their own communities,” Lieberman said. “We should not penalize those who had, to their great credit, found intervening work in other states despite losing everything they had due to Hurricane Katrina. They should be given the chance to return home and rebuild their lives without penalty, and this decision will accomplish that.” Earlier this year, Lieberman was successful in passing legislation to extend unemployment benefits for Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims. He is currently supporting efforts to provide a further extension for unemployed hurricane victims of an additional 13 weeks of benefits – thus far this effort has stalled when Republicans objected. A total of 83,514 families will be affected. More than nine months have passed since Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, but Gulf Coast families continue to struggle to find permanent housing and jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has recently reported that 25 percent of displaced Hurricane Katrina victims who have been living out-of-state remained unemployed in May, more than five times the national average. There are 200,000 fewer jobs in Louisiana than there were before landfall. Lieberman’s original letter to Secretary Chou can be read here: http://lieberman.senate.gov/documents/letters/060425chaodualetter.pdf   ###   Printable Version   « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 June 2006 Press Releases   June 30 - Collins, Lieberman Seek to Address Government Fraud   June 29 - Dodd, Lieberman Help Secure Additional $4 Million for Coast Guard Research and Development Lab   June 29 - Lieberman Says DHS Infrastructure Protection Plan Not Enough   June 28 - Lieberman Speaks on Introduction of Bill to Reinvent FEMA   June 27 - Collins, Lieberman Seek Greater Funding To Protect Transit, Rail and Ports   June 27 - Lieberman Says Appeals Court Decision Reaffirms Opposition To DHS Personnel Changes   June 23 - Lieberman Demands Greater Information Security For DHS Trusted Traveler Programs   June 20 - Lieberman Welcomes Reversal of FEMA Trailer Evictions   June 20 - Democrats Seek Oversight of Iraqi Reconstruction Contracts   June 19 - Lieberman Says Federal Efforts to Ensure Diversity Must Improve   June 16 - Lieberman Says NRP Conclusion is Not Surprising   June 16 - Senators Collins, Lieberman, Coleman and Murray Call on Chertoff to Issue Transporation and Port Security Grant Guidance   June 15 - Senate Homeland SEcurity Committee Unanimously Passes Collins-Lieberman Chemical Security Legislation   June 15 - Lieberman Heralds Advancement Of Chemical Security Bill   June 14 - Lieberman Leads Defeat of Industry's Preemption Amendment to the Chemical Security Bill   June 14 - Lieberman Says Disaster Aid Abuse Underscores Need For A Reinvented FEMA   June 14 - Lieberman Calls for Investigation of the Appearance of Widespread Censorship by the Administration on Climate Change Research   June 9 current Press Release   June 9 - NASA Admits Wrongdoing in Not Allowing Top Scientist to Discuss Climate Change Research   June 8 - Senate Homeland Security Committee Holds Hearing on Where FEMA Belongs   June 8 - Lieberman Calls for Reinvention, Strengthening of FEMA   June 6 - Lieberman Assails GOP for Refusing to Extend Unemployment Benefits for 2005 Hurricane Victims
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