99er Tier 5 Unemployment Extension Bill S3706 Text and Details

The 99ers rejoice, as an unemployment extension for Tier 5 desires could become available. S3706 is an unemployment extension that will provide 20 more weeks of unemployment benefits. Of course, the bill will face it's share of opposition and challenges as it makes its way towards becoming law, but the important first step has been made.

The bill is headlined by Debbie Stabenow from Michigan, a state that has 13.5% unemployment. A press release on her Web site reads "Across our state, more than 35,000 people who have lost their jobs have also exhausted their unemployment insurance benefits. I know that these men and women want to work and have been trying their best to find jobs in this difficult economy. My legislation cuts taxes for businesses that hire new workers who have been looking for work the longest. My bill also provides 20 more weeks of unemployment insurance to people in states like ours with the highest number of people out of work."

The 99er Tier 5 SB3706 bill has a one-two punch, which both provides incentives for job creation and gives displaced workers a little extra time to try to find that elusive job.

The most recent extension of benefits was barely passed, as GOP opposition made it difficult to find an agreeable way to fund the bill. The bill had to 'trim the fat' before it was passed, removing a $25 weekly benefit and also the extension of COBRA subsidies.

COBRA subsidies are also not present in S3706, as 99ers have already exhausted their eligibility for 18 months of post-employment benefits.

The bill will only help states with unemployment rates of 7.5% or higher, helping to ensure that the only people with access to benefits are those who legitimately cannot find a job - not those trying to milk the system. Such is a crucial argument in play, as some believe that people will stay unemployed as long as benefits are available.

Of course, this is not a bipartisan bill. Debbie Stabenow and eleven other democratic Senators are sponsoring the bill. It's going to be interesting to see if it gains GOP support, especially because it's time for the mid-term elections, and the response from the republicans made them less than popular during the passage of the last extension bill.

Source:

Debbie Stabenow Official site