Reid Open To Another Unemployment Benefit Extension? (UPDATED)
The unemployment insurance extension
signed into law by President Obama last Friday will come as a huge
relief to the roughly 30,000 Illinois workers who will exhaust their
benefits by the end of the year. But the legislation won't help folks
whose benefits expire on or ...
The unemployment insurance extension signed into law by President Obama last Friday will come as a huge relief to the roughly 30,000 Illinois workers who will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. But the legislation won't help folks whose benefits expire on or after January 1. With the jobless rate continuing to rise nationally and the broader combined measurement of unemployment and underemployment at its highest rate in decades, it's pretty clear that Americans will continue to struggle finding work and generating income.
Some members of Congress aren't sitting back on their heels. Following up on Congress Daily's piece late last week, The Hill reported yesterday that some of the same lawmakers who led the extension fight this fall now want to boost insurance through 2010:
Both Shaheen and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), the House sponsor of the unemployment aid bill, want to provide the extra weeks of benefits to those who would see their unemployment insurance expire during any part of 2010, not just for those whose benefits end this year. [...]
"I certainly support that," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) last month. "We want to start creating jobs again, and we want to help people until that time happens."
While there is some hesitation from members of both parties about the cost and timing of the bill, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hinted that he's open to the idea. "Sen. Reid is going to continue to look for ways to support job creation," said Reid aide Joel Payne, "and provide relief for unemployed Americans as our job market continues to recover."
Read the full piece here.
UPDATE (3:47 PM): The Orange County Register makes a valuable but depressing catch regarding the unemployment benefit extension bill passed into law last week. As initially constructed, the legislation granted 20 weeks of unemployment insurance to jobless workers who will have exhausted their benefits by the end of the year and live in a state with an unemployment rate at or above 8.5 percent. But there's a catch. Mike Lillis synthesizes for the Washington Independent:
Because the bill was held up for so long in the Senate, an end-of-the-year filing deadline will prevent anyone from accessing the final six weeks of benefits, according to state officials and sources on Capitol Hill. On Friday, President Obama signed into law legislation extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks nationwide, with an additional six weeks for those states where unemployment rates top 8.5 percent. Those benefits kicked in on Sunday. But there’s a glitch. The new law treats the 20-week extension as two separate extensions of 14 weeks and six weeks, with participants required to exhaust the first 14 weeks before applying for the next six. However, the current law keeps a Dec. 31 application deadline, roughly seven weeks from now, making collecting the full 20 weeks impossible.
That’s not all. The emergency unemployment benefits provided beginning in 2008 are also tiered. The filing deadline applies to all tiers. That is, the new extension would effectively grandfather the unemployed into the tier where they sit at the end of December, preventing them from jumping into the next, even if they were eligible.
In other words, the Republican obstructionism has cost even more Illinoians additional insurance.
Comments
"But the legislation won't help folks whose benefits expire on or after January 1"
I'm over here sweating....I exhausted my unemployment Sept. 2009. Do they mean January 1st of 2009 or 2010 ?????????????????????????????????????????????
pretty sure they mean 2010
if u have exhausted your benefits its fine your going to get the 14 or 20 week extention, but if ur benefit year ends soon your in trouble. my benefit year end in March of 2010, so I won't recieve my full 20 weeks of benefits before my benefit year ends in March of 2010. That means we all will be back in the same bout, if the benefits are not puch through 2010. Add the weeks up from now until your benefit year ends and see how many weeks of benefits you really going to recieve.
Thanks for the response. My year to date ends on January 7th, 2010. So you are saying I will not get the full 20 weeks due to this, I will only get up to that date? At this pace I wont get a check at all. Wow, the way the system works is sickening. This really sux!
I live in California, My benefits expired in mid october. I got my last Unemployment check on Oct. 10th. When will the EDD Send me my paper work for extended benefits? I want to know when I will get my paper work to get collect from my extension?
The EDD website isnt helping. Does anyone know when those who have exhausted their benefits will get paper work in the mail to collect their benefits(Esp. in California) Please send a reply ! Thanks!
Toney & Driver, Im not 100% sure cuz I live in NC and it might be different here but.... I know w/the last extension I had to recertify because my benefit year ended before I had collected my full amount. Maybe thats all you two need to do. Im sure your unemployment office would be able to let you know for sure. Good luck
Sam, we're all waiting on letters from our UI offices to let us know when to start filing again. Try calling your office (although they really dont want us to) good luck to you too
i live in california and my last check was sent friday. i called the edd and they said if i was eligable they would send me my forms. however i dont understand will i get 20 weeks or 14
i also live in california and am unemployed.
no, you will not receive 20 weeks of unemployment benefits. the law signed approves an extension of benefits in two parts. part one is 14 weeks. part two is 6 weeks. it works like this...
part one (14 weeks) must be exhausted before the application of part two (6 weeks), and part two must be applied for before 12/31/09. well, with 12/31/09 roughly 7 weeks from now (not more than 14 weeks of part one), this is absolutely impossible. in short, because there are fewer than 14 weeks before the end of the year, no states will get the promised 20 weeks of extended unemployment.
hard hit states like California -- with LA being the 2nd worst economy in the nation -- have been stiffed.
CALL YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN A.S.A.P.!!!!!
After reading all comments, my question is....why would Congress pass a bill that would allow 14-20 wks of extention, when there is not that much time left in the year...On top of that, if you have already exhausted all benefits, you definetly won't get a benefit until at least Thanksgiving....Why would they raise our hopes and then have these inconsistencies?
Congress is aware of the problem with the fileing dead line of 12/31/09. They have "Vowed" to fix this. The new extensions..the way written do in fact conflict with the fileing dead lines. I have written both my senators here in california. Check your states EDD web site and it explains all this. It is a simple fix but congress will make it so complicated. They didn't have to break it up into two seperate extensions in the first place.
How much income tax do we owe on our benefits? I don't have the 10% taken out and I am curious about how much tax I am going to owe. Is there a chance that Congress will add tax suspension for 2009/2010 to the next bill?
Your input is appreciated.
I believe that there is a bill currently being considered that will give us a break from paying incomes taxes on unemployement benefits this year.
Congress already passed a bill that excludes only the first $2400.00 from federal income tax. The state of californis does not tax UI benefits.
Thanks KMOK!
I really hope Obama keeps his promise to suspend the unemployement benefit tax. The first $2400 was a nice gesture,
we nned more...come April 15th, I am not going to have a few thousand dollars to pay back. Keep the faith...Please help us Mr. President & Congress!!
Why worry about a non-existant $2400.oo tax exemption on 2009 unemployment. The MAX amount paid to a single dude or dudetta is probably under 23,000.00 if you are single out of work for th entire year. Take out your standard itemized deductions, your meds, your charity donations, your ACORN dues, your SEIU dues, etc and you don't or won't owe anythihg anyway. They knew this when it as passed. Sounds good, looks good until you eat it. Then... YOU EAT IT and it still tastes like Iguana. Another typical instance of No Bama bullship milorganite pre-packaged to look and sold to you as if it were a Baby Ruth bar...
I need more Obama waffels!!
DIRTY ASS REPUBLICAN.....
Republicans eat Obama waffles too! Hey we are all paying for them! My ass is black, but it aint dirty!!
I just called my NY Senator Chuck Schumer & left a message to voice my desparate concerns about our lawmakers modifying this recently signed law to reflect the nescessary changes needed to make it more effective!
So its really just a 4 week extention for some of us!!
Capital Hill has got to make this right!
Please post any updates ASAP....so much depends on this being corrected.
Thanks to ALL!....
Ok I am freaking out here. My benefits on the third extension (i live in CA) run out on exactly Dec. 31, 2009. Will I even be eligible for the 14 week extension?
I feel like even though they finally passed the extension that we're still getting screwed :(
And the circus has just begun. It lasts three more years.
I Like a parade... Send in the Clowns. Watch em all on display on CSPAN.
14 really equals 13
20 really equals 0
Who is counting? Unemployed ACORN workers? Sheesh!
Does anyone that collected UI benefits in 2008 remember if the 10% withheld will cover the taxes owed? Will the $2400 tax credit issed this year be increased? Thanks for any answers & good luck to all!!
Is this post still active?
Nope... NoBama, Pelosi and Reid ate it for lunch.
I AM REALLY WORRIED, CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME??
I live in California, My benefits expired in mid october. I got my last Unemployment check on Oct. 10th. When will the EDD Send me my paper work for extended benefits? I want to know when I will get my paper work to get collect from my extension?
The EDD website isnt helping.
DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW WHEN THE EDD WILL SEND NEW CLAIM FORMS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE EXHAUSTED UNEMPLOYMENT IN SEPT/OCTOBER? PLEASE POST A REPLY THANKS
Dude
I'm in Khalifarnia too as in also...
Suggestion: Sign in to Unemployedfriends.com and check out the posts at California. Also go to NELP for Help.
National Employment Law Project dot com. NELP.com
How many weeks of U/E EDD payments have you gotten since the initial 26 expired?
You should be contacted by EDD by Snail Mail within the next few weeks hopefully before Thanksgiving. Well hopefully that is. They are trying to figure out how to operate their brand new Vic Commodore 20 and Commodore 64 Computers NoBama Gave them as part of the Stimulating million dollar NOBama Package of Hoosier Daddy earlier this year. The new Obama bucks just don't seem to go as far as they did just of few months ago now do they.
You know I don't get you crappy attitude against the Pres. If we had a damn Republican in their we wouldn't have anything for unemployment after 26 weeks. Well maybe they would give us a tax break, that seems to be their cureall. Thank God we have president Obama to get us out of the pile of s**t that the republiclans tax cut and spent us into.
We need a tax break from Obama too.... I have faith that congress will get this UI mess straight by Dec 1st, otherwise my Kwanza will be ruined! Does anybody have any info on HEB(high extended ) benefits?
Please Mr. Obama...don't let us down!!!
Now Obama's called a White House Forum to discuss job creation.
This stimulus plan is a joke! Banks got bailed out & now they won't lend any money!! No benefits, No Jobs, No Hope!!
When will Reid introduce a new unemployement extension Bill?
The clock is ticking ! I will be watching CSPAN3 today with my fingers crossed.
Did anyone receive their unemployment letter yet? If not how long are we suppose to wait?
Ken, I am trying to figure this out myself. Its been one week now and I have not gotten a letter from the EDD . I was laid off in May 2008 and got all my unemployment extensions. My last Unemployment check was received in Mid October. I am hoping they send me some information soon.
I applied online for my extension on 11/9/2009 and I also haven't received anything yet. I also live in California
I'm in Illinois and I just received a notice from IDES that I will be receiving up to 13 weeks of additional benefits, referred to as Tier 3 benefits. These are not the benefits that were just authorized by congress, right? After my 13 weeks of benefits exhaust, will I be entitled to the 20 week extension just authorized by congress? Thanks.
Sooomebody... Aaanyboody... HELP!
You guys are hilarious, indeedy! I moved out here to SD, CA a year ago and have been receiving UI from NYC, from whence I came. Am in my Tier 2 .. now .. the next ext. is the 20 weeks; but will end Dec/09, correctamundo? If that is not extended I believe I am only entitled to 2 weeks of that; then, starts this last ext. of 14-20 wks.? Hmm ..
Can anyone make head or tails out of this here mess, as this is just too boggling to the ol' brainio and much too time consuming, all this worrying, huh?!! We are all gonna' end up in the freakin' loony bin at this rate .. lol .. !!
Does anyone out there have actual stats as to the "what the heck is goin' on" out there??!?
Holla back now ;) .. !!
Pami,
Hopefully I'm not making this more confusing than it already is. But here's my understanding on what is going on here. There are your regular 26 weeks of benefits, then tier 1 (additional 13 weeks extension), then tier 2 (13 more week extension), then FED ED (another 20 weeks extension), then there's this recent 4TH EXTENSION (for up to ANOTHER 20 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in your state). So all in all, that adds up to a total of 99 weeks of unemployment a person CAN receive.
Here's where it gets even more confusing. The current extensions (including anything beyond the first 26 weeks) are only valid up until the end of December, 2009. So, in my case - my original 26 weeks end at the end of November. So I believe I'm kind of 'grandfathered' into the tier 1 benefits (of the first 20 week extension). Beyond that, nothing is certain.
There were 2 bills floating around that were/are confusing people. The first is HR 3548. This was originally supposed to extend all extensions from 2009 to 2010 - meaning that everyone would be safe with having extensions to fall back on if they couldn't find a job, for at least 1 more year). But Congress realized that people who were out of work since 2008 were already out of extension benefits (including tier 1, 2, and FED ED), so they created a separate bill called HR 3404. This was set up just to pass that 4th group of extensions until the end of the year, as a way of not dealing with the bigger problem (HR 3404) they'll have to face sooner or later here.
So anyone can feel free to correct me on that grandfathering in thing, but I'm about 90% sure that's how it works. And if so, now all we (and several other million people) can do is wait until Congress figures out where the billions of dollars will come from to extend the extension dates until the end of 2010. And knowing our government.. they'll figure that out sometime around 2084. LoL... hope that helps, although there is definitely a chance I confused you anymore. If that's the case, I apologize. :)
Correction to my explanation above (see, confusing you already!). It's the original 26 weeks of benefits, THEN Tier 1 = 20 WEEKS (not 13), then Tier 2 = 13 weeks, FED ED = 20 weeks, and the 4th extension is another 20 weeks. 26+20+13+20+20 = 96. Ah yes, there is is. As you can see, I'm not an Accountant. ;)
Another correction - HR 3404 was the original bill to extend the extensions from 2009 to 2010. HR 3548 was what they just passed to give people 14-20 more weeks and buy time before having to deal with passing the original bill.
So in summary - most people are waiting now to see if HR 3404 will pass to move extension deadlines to 2010. But a lot of people are thanking God that HR 3548 at least passed PERIOD to give them something for the next few months.
And if after both corrections here and everything else I typed, I'm still wrong - may God have mercy on my soul!
Correcttion,
This is how it went. 26 weeks, then a 13 week extension then 7 weeks added to that 1st extension + another 13 weeks. Then from the stimulus i.e. in CA we got 20 weeks and now we are to get another 14 weeks with the possibility of another 6 weeks. This totals 99 weeks. Whatever extension you are on as of Dec 27, 2009 is the last extension you will get unless Congress reauthorizes all of them by Dec 27th..from what I have read from Nelp and other sources this is likely however Congress has but a few actual working days left this year so they need to do it now.
julianneb and others:
What can I / we do to help? E-mail, call, write congress men/ women? I am illiterate when it comes to politics. We need Congress to reauthorize this A.S.A.P!!! Can anyone tell me where to start? My family's livelihood depends on this (like many others). I will be cut off early January if this don't get fixed. This is the hardest time of the year to find work. I will be lost without it. The stress wont end my fellow friends in the same boat!!! Its killing me slow!
Sad Man, I here you, my husband has been out of work since Jan 08, and is now going back to school at night, I am thankfully working full time. Call and email your congress person and your senators, tell them that it is imeparative that they get this done. Every call and email helps, we have to have the same drive and determiniation that we had getting the extension passed..
Hey guys,
We're closing down this thread. Please head over to our latest post on this topic:
http://progressillinois.com/2009/11/16/ides-ui-certification-begins-next...