Main Street

House Republicans Propose Devastating Cuts to Unemployment Insurance

It can’t be said often enough: with the jobs situation as bad as it is, we need to keep unemployment insurance flowing to the millions of households who need them. There are more than four job seekers for every job opening, and the average unemployed person has been out of work for some 40 weeks. Unfortunately, the extension of unemployment insurance that would support those struggling with long-term unemployment is set to expire at the end of the year.

And now, to add insult to injury, the Republican caucus in the U.S. House is pushing a new bill that would slash weeks out of the unemployment benefits that those out of work can draw on.

That means that families hardest-hit by the economy are going to have less money in their pockets to spend on their food and their home. It means that they can’t contribute as much to the local economy. The new bill is short-sighted and cruel in its impacts.

The extension of unemployment insurance is one of the 9 Demands of the 99 Percent, and it’s one Congress can and should take action on immediately. It’s not complicated. Extending unemployment insurance is the right thing to do. And as the tireless activism of our members across the country has shown, it’s an issue that draws wide and passionate public support.

In addition to the new reductions on the length of benefits, the bill is riddled with proposals that would punish the unemployed, make the system less efficient and undermine the guarantee of unemployment insurance.

The National Employment Law Project has a great point-by-point analysis of this bill, which they say would have a truly grim impact on individual unemployed people and the economy as a whole. (NELP is also mobilizing people to call Congress to demand extension of unemployment insurance.)

As economist Jared Bernstein notes, “The whole thing makes no sense…we’ve never failed to extend with the jobless rate this high. It’s bad for families who need the money, and it’s bad for the macro economy, since they spend the money.”

As usual, the Republican leadership in Congress is showing where its priorities are—and making things better for working families doesn’t seem to make it onto the list.

Photo by takomabibelot on Flickr, via Creative Commons.

Tags: John Boehner, Payroll Tax Cut, Tea Party, unemployment, unemployment extension