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Washington, DC—Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (Md.-07), a member of the Joint Economic Committee, joined his colleagues in adopting an amendment to H.R. 2642, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would extend unemployment benefits and offer a proven stimulus to our economy.
“Across the country, there are currently two people vying for every one job opening, and this is only expected to worsen with time,” Congressman Cummings said. “We cannot—for the sake of both humanity and our economy—sit idly by while half of the unemployed struggle to make ends meet due to the poor economic policy decisions of the past 8 years.”
The U.S. economy has witnessed job losses for four consecutive months, and—while the overall unemployment is not at a historically high level—long-term unemployment, the share of unemployment that has lasted more than 6 months, is currently very high relative to past unemployment rates. According to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute, 2.1 million workers will be long-term unemployed by the end of next year—a 64 percent increase from the 1.3 million long-term unemployed today.
The amendment to the supplemental bill offers a thirteen week extension of unemployment benefits to workers who have exhausted the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits, as well as an additional 13 weeks of benefits to individuals in states with an overall unemployment rate of 6 percent or higher. Extending these benefits is projected to give the economy a boost of more than $1.7 billion per month, as the money is most likely to be spent on immediate needs.
“I have been advocating for an extension of long-term unemployment benefits for months, and I am pleased to have joined my colleagues today in voting to help the men and women suffering through hard times continue to put food on the table for their families,” Congressman Cummings said. “This responsible legislation is beneficial for both our struggling neighbors who are relentlessly seeking employment and for our struggling economy.”
More than 13,000 Marylanders are estimated to have exhausted their unemployment benefits and remain unemployed, and that number is projected to increase by an additional 36,000 by the end of 2009. The money to fund this legislation comes from the nation’s $38 billion unemployment trust fund, which is funded by a payroll tax on employers.
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