WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term unemployed workers in states
with persisting high joblessness soon would no longer be able to count
on unemployment benefit checks for up to 99 weeks under legislation
before Congress.
Under this week’s compromise for extending a
Social Security tax cut through the rest of 2012, federal unemployment
benefits for people who have been out of work more than six months are
being scaled back.
If Congress passes the bill and President
Barack Obama signs it into law, the current maximum 99 weeks of benefits
will gradually fall to 73 weeks by September. For people in all but
about a dozen of the highest unemployment states, the benefits will be
cut off after 63 weeks.
Democrats had hoped to keep the number as
close as possible to 99 weeks, arguing that the benefits are critical
for those struggling to make ends meet and provide a boost to the
economy. Republicans wanted to reduce the maximum time span for benefits
to 59 weeks, saying too many people don’t seriously look for a job
until the government checks quit coming.
The agreement would let
both parties claim victory: Democrats say they preserved the program for
another year, while Republicans claim they won major concessions by
scaling back the program.
About 43 percent of the nation’s nearly
13 million unemployed have been without work for more than six months,
double the rate of any other economic downturn since the Great
Depression. If Congress had not reached a deal to reauthorize the
program, about a million people would have lost benefits next month.
"It’s
far from perfect, but it seems to be a responsible approach to the
current problem of long-term unemployment," said George Wentworth, an
attorney with the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy
group that supports long-term benefits.
It was not immediately
clear how many people might lose out on benefits later this year under
the new plan. Currently, 22 states are eligible for 93-plus weeks of
unemployment insurance; just 18 get the full maximum of 99 weeks. The
average unemployed worker receives less than $300 a week in benefits.
Wentworth said the gradual decrease would help cushion the blow for those relying on the benefits.
The
plan would extend the current 99-week maximum through May for states
with the highest unemployment rates. Benefits would drop to 79 weeks in
June and to 73 weeks in September. Unless Congress extends the federal
benefits again, people losing their jobs after July 1 will get only 26
weeks.
"This agreement is a step in the right direction," said
James Sherk, a policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
"However, two years of benefits was excessive when passed and a
year-and-a-half of benefits in an improving labor market is still
excessive."
The program was already winding down anyway. Under the
current formula, the maximum coverage period would have fallen to 79
weeks in October.
The job market has been steadily improving and
fewer people are filing for the benefits. On Thursday, the Labor
Department reported that the number of people seeking unemployment
benefits last week was the lowest it’s been in four years.
The new
law will allow states to make benefit applicants take drug tests if
they lost their job because they failed a drug test or are applying for a
job that requires one. Republicans dropped an effort to let states
require all applicants to take a drug test, or require applicants
without a high school diplomas to pursue a GED certificate.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.