From HuffPo:
Terminated workers are paying an average of $429 a month this year for individual HMO coverage, compared to $399 for the same coverage in 2009, according to a survey conducted by Aon Consulting. COBRA coverage for an entire family now costs an average of $1,251, up from $1,171 per month at this time last year. With COBRA costs on the rise and the average unemployment check totaling less than $300 a week, a growing number of jobless Americans are no longer able to afford their health insurance plans.
Families are having to choose between having health insurance or keeping a roof over their head and food on the table. A family who has a member with medical needs is between a rock and a hard place.
John Zern, executive vice president and Health & Benefits Practice director with Aon Consulting, said the costs of COBRA are rising because so many people are using the system.
In an effort to spread the misery around:
Current employees should also expect to see their plans become more expensive in the next couple of years as employers shift the costs over to them. The Aon survey found that 65 percent percent of employers plan to increase cost-sharing in 2011 for deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket maximums, and 57 percent of companies polled said they will ask employees to contribute more for the overall cost of health care next year.
Tags: COBRA, Health Care, unemployment
The global economic crisis has affected routine health care more in the US than in countries that have universal systems;
The study, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, finds that “Americans, who face higher out-of-pocket health care costs, have reduced their routine medical care” much more than people in Britain, Canada, France and Germany.
and
Among Americans responding to the survey, they said, 26.5 percent reported reducing their use of routine medical care since the start of the global economic crisis in 2007.
This proportion dwarfs the comparable numbers for other countries: 5.3 percent in Canada, 7.6 percent in Britain, 10.3 percent in Germany and 12 percent in France.
“Even in countries with universal coverage, individuals pay some medical care costs out of pocket,” the researchers noted.
Cutbacks were generally correlated with the size of out-of-pocket costs, the researchers found. The proportion of people reporting reductions in routine care was smaller in Britain and Canada, where the co-payments are lower, than in France and Germany, where somewhat larger co-payments are required.
This isn’t a surprise. People who have difficult choices to make about keeping a roof over the family’s head and food on the table will ignore their own health issues for as long as possible. Sadly, this will mean ignoring problems until they reach a critical stage, which will mean that many will die for want of routine care.
Economic desperation is why massive free medical clinics are a draw, like this one at the beginning of the month. From HuffPo:
A massive free health clinic for uninsured people in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning attracted nearly two thousand people, from infants to the elderly, all taking advantage of free doctor attention, blood tests and cancer screenings they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.
The story profiles two men in their fifties who were laid off from their good jobs where they had insurance. They just can’t afford COBRA.
One of the men is quoted:
“Did I think I was gonna be coming to a free health clinic after working as a teacher for 24 years? No,” he told HuffPost. “My resumé speaks for itself.
Tags: COBRA, Health Care, unemployment
Late yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed for cloture on the long-delayed bill that includes an extension of existing federal unemployment benefits programs through the end of November. That means that 60 votes will be needed just to bring the bill up for a vote after the requisite 30-hour ‘cloture clock’ expires. That cloture vote could come as early as tomorrow. But it may come later, as Senate Democrats appear to still be seeking the votes to get to 60.
This afternoon, meanwhile, votes are expected on amendments to the bill, perhaps including Senator Bob Casey’s (D-PA) to restore the COBRA subsidy provision for newly unemployed workers.
This morning’s New York Times editorial is titled ‘The Unemployed Held Hostage’:
Since June 1, when federal unemployment benefits began to expire, an estimated 325,000 jobless workers have been cut off. That number will swell to 1.25 million by the end of the month unless Congress extends the benefits. The Senate, so far, has failed to act.
Some senators, including Democrats, have balked at an unrelated provision that would begin to close a tax loophole enjoyed by some of the richest Americans. You heard right. Desperately needed unemployment benefits have been held hostage to a tax break for the rich, and the Senate’s Democratic leadership has had to delay and finagle to get its own caucus in line.
State-provided unemployment benefits generally last for 26 weeks, and the federal government picks up the tab after that, provided Congress approves the extensions. There is no disagreement over the need: 46 percent of the nation’s 15 million jobless workers have been unemployed for more than six months — a higher level than at any time since the government began keeping track in 1948.
The Times goes on to correctly state that the unemployment and other safety net provisions are rightly considered emergency spending, but that other provisions such as extensions of business tax credits should be paid for. And that’s why the bill includes closing or reducing the tax loopholes for wealthy hedge fund and other investment managers.
Closing the loophole would raise an estimated $25 billion over 10 years. Many private equity mavens, venture capitalists and other partnerships have lobbied to keep as much of the loophole as they can. Most Republicans and some Democratic senators — including John Kerry of Massachusetts, Mark Warner of Virginia and Maria Cantwell of Washington — are doing their bidding.
In its version of the bill, the House closed part of the loophole: fund managers would retain the special low rate on 25 percent of their privileged earnings. The loophole measure was watered down even more in the Senate. And investment partnerships are still lobbying.
Senators aren’t likely to vote on the bill until the end of this week. Then it would need to be reconciled with the House-passed version. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands more jobless Americans will lose benefits.
The right thing to do is obvious. The House and Senate should immediately extend unemployment benefits and aid to states and close the fund-managers’ tax loophole — completely.
That so many senators have balked is a bad sign for the economy and for the most vulnerable Americans. The fact that lawmakers are not willing to ask the nation’s wealthiest to pay their fair share of taxes also makes a mockery of all their talk about deficit reduction. (emphasis added)
To overcome the Republican-led filibuster, on both the COBRA amendment and the bill itself, the votes of a number of the following Senators will be needed:
Bayh (D-IN)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Nelson (D-NE)
Webb (D-VA)
Warner (D-VA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Brown (R-MA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Snowe (R-ME)
Collins (R-ME)
You can call the Senate toll free at 888-254-5087.
Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska has already been pretty clear that he’s a “No” vote. That means that even if all the other Democrats can be convinced to vote “Yes”, the bill would still need 2 Republicans.
For the sake of the Senators still wavering, while hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed workers have already lost jobless benefits, economist Dean Baker reports today:
Senator Nelson Proposes to Reduce GDP by $120 Billion, Eliminate 800,000 Jobs
The Washington Post reported on the opposition in Congress to spending more money to aid financially strapped state and local governments or unemployed workers. It highlighted the complaint of Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson that President Obama’s request for $80 billion was in appropropriate in a situation where the government has a $12 trillion debt.
It would have been helpful to include some discussion of the economic implications of the opposition to this bill. The economy will be weaker if Congress refuses to appropriate the funds requested by the Obama administration. Assuming a multiplier of 1.5 (most of the proposed spending is generally estimated to have a relatively high mutliplier), not spending this money will reduce GDP by $120 billion.
When it outlined its stimulus plan, the Obama administration assumed that a 1 percentage point increase in GDP creates 1 million jobs. This implies that a loss of $120 billion in output would lead to a loss of 800,000 jobs. It would help readers assess the proposed spending if they understood its likely economic impact.
Tags: COBRA, HR 4213, jobless benefits extension, Jobs, unemployment
In the seemingly never ending saga of getting a bill passed to continue the extended federal unemployment insurance programs — one that has been going on now for four months — the Senate has returned to take up H.R. 4213 yet again.
But the bill they have before them lacks the previous provisions to extend the federal COBRA premium subsidy, those provisions having been removed two weeks ago in the House.
As I reported last week, the version passed by the House before the Memorial Day recess was a clear indication that we had reached a dangerous crossroads in the effort to aid those hardest hit by the Great Recession and provide a foundation for a job market recovery.
The COBRA subsidy, originally included in the Recovery Act and since extended several times, provides for reduced premium payments for up to 15 months for those who qualify and wish to continue health insurance coverage with their former employer’s plan. Since the employer no longer contributes to the premium payments, the COBRA subsidy picks up 65% of the monthly premiums, allowing the unemployed to maintain at least some semblance of affordable coverage.
According to Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, on average the monthly COBRA premium for a family would be $1,107 nationally. The average monthly payment from unemployment insurance is $1,313. Without the COBRA subsidy for the unemployed, COBRA premiums would gobble up an average of 84 percent of unemployment benefits. In a number of states, the average COBRA premiums are actually higher than the average unemployment payments.
Unless the COBRA subsidy is restored in the bill, private insurance companies would be able to suck up huge chunks of many jobless workers’ unemployment payments, despite the recent passage of health care reform.
Unless the COBRA subsidy is restored in the bill, the ranks of the uninsured would swell dramatically, despite the recent passage of health care reform.
Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) has an amendment to restore the COBRA provisions to H.R. 4213. Here’s the announcement from Sen. Casey:
Amendment to Reinstate COBRA Premium Assistance
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) were joined by fourteen other senators today in introducing an amendment to the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that would reinstate the expired COBRA health care premium assistance for laid off workers.
“Millions of Americans have been hard hit by the recession and lost their jobs through no fault of their own,” said Senator Casey. “Unfortunately, some people in Washington want to pull up the ladder and take away help for these struggling families. Not extending COBRA premium assistance will hurt hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania and across the country and it will add further strain on our recovering economy.”
“We need to prevent unemployed workers for joining the rolls of the uninsured,” Brown said. “When there are few jobs to be had, the inability to afford COBRA premiums becomes an even more acute problem. I’ve received letters and emails from Ohioans who describe how COBRA is more expensive than rent or food. That’s why we need to extend this subsidy for workers who have recently lost their jobs.”
The COBRA assistance expired on May 31st. The Casey-Brown amendment would extend the program through November 30, 2010.
The amendment to extend COBRA premium assistance is also cosponsored by Senators Pat Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), John Kerry (D-MA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Jack Reed (D-RI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Begich (D-AK), Roland Burris (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and AL Franken (D-MN).
In addition, Senators Casey and Brown also sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) urging support for an extension of COBRA premium assistance. This letter was also signed by Senators Leahy, Levin, Chris Dodd (D-CT), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Kerry, Harkin, Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Akaka, Wyden, Reed, Stabenow, Lautenberg, Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Whitehouse, Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Gillibrand, Begich, Franken and Burris.
Without the extension of the COBRA Premium Assistance Program a report from the National Employment Law Projects predicts as many as 150,000 Americans each month will lose out on the subsidies necessary to afford quality healthcare.
A study by Families USA shows that 4 million Americans, including 98,500 Pennsylvanians lost their employer-based coverage due to job loss in 2009.
The average cost of COBRA family coverage is three-quarters of monthly unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania and 40 other states. In some states, health premiums actually cost more than monthly unemployment benefits, slowly driving families further into debt.
Call your Senators toll-free at 888-254-5087 and tell them to support the Casey amendment to H.R. 4213 to restore the COBRA premium subsidy for unemployed workers.
And, since the amendment will almost certainly face a 60 vote threshold, the votes of the following Senators will be particularly critical:
Bayh (IN)
McCaskill (MO)
Nelson (NE)
Webb (VA)
Warner (VA)
Brown (MA)
Voinovich (OH)
Snowe (ME)
Collins (ME)
Make those calls now… then come back and I’ll run down some more on the bill:
Also cut short in the House bill was the date of the federal unemployment program extension to November 30 from December 31. The Senate’s version maintains that eligibility expiration, so that those who became jobless from December of last year through May of this year and exhaust their 26-weeks of regular state unemployment would still be eligible. That, of course, is assuming the bill passes, which is not a certainty. At the same time, the November 30 date means that newly unemployed workers, those who lose their jobs through no fault of their own after May 31 will only be eligible for the regular 26-weeks of state benefits.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits are still averaging nearly 460,000 a week, nearly 40 percent more than when the recession began. Those claims, as well as continuing claims, had been declining consistently but have recently flattened out.
source: Paper Economy
Click here for a large format interactive version.
With many employers still laying off workers and a still anemic job market, newly unemployed workers will be facing a shorter period of benefits coverage even as long-term unemployment continues to soar. The average duration of unemployment is now 34 weeks. Nearly 6.8 million workers have been jobless for six months or more, and they represent 46 percent of all unemployed workers.
The Senate’s substitute for the House bill does include the $24 billion in additional FMAP aid to states to help support their Medicaid programs, another provision like COBRA that had been stripped out of the House version.
The extension of federal benefits through the end of November is an essential bare minimum to help the long-term unemployed and their local communities. Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project said today that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, unemployment insurance is the most effective form of economic stimulus, creating $1.93 in GDP for every $1 in benefits. “Our real deficit is a jobs deficit,” she said on a conference call with reporters. “It is urgent that Congress act to restore the extended unemployment and COBRA programs as quickly as possible.”
Tags: COBRA, HR 4213, jobless benefits extension, Jobs, unemployment
Picture this.
If the 15 million unemployed workers in this country stood side-by-side, literally shoulder to shoulder, they would stretch from Bangor, Maine to Los Angeles, California… and back again.
And that’s not even counting the more than 9 million who are working only part-time even while wanting full-time work, nor the more than 1 million who are too discouraged to even look for work because of the lack of available jobs.
Nearly half of America’s unemployed have been out of work for six months or longer. And more than 5 million of them rely on the extended federal unemployment insurance programs while they look for work in a very weak job market.
Yet, before leaving for last week’s recess, Congress failed to pass an extension of the federal unemployment programs for the long-term jobless, allowing eligibility for those programs to expire, at least temporarily. An estimated 300,000 unemployed workers will lose unemployment benefits by the end of this week, and 1.2 million by the end of June unless Congress restores them retroactive to June 2.
The House did pass a vastly scaled-down unemployment extension, but one that begins to dismantle some of the economic underpinnings of a recovery. That bill cut short a planned end-of-year extension by a month, and eliminated extensions of both the temporary federal COBRA health insurance subsidy and the FMAP provisions to send added help to cash-starved state Medicaid programs.
Currently 15 percent of all unemployment insurance recipients are benefiting from the reduced insurance premiums offered by the COBRA subsidy. Without it, COBRA premiums for an average family would increase to $1107 per month, which would account for 84 percent of the national average one-month unemployment insurance payments.
Unless the COBRA subsidy is restored by the Senate, newly unemployed workers who become jobless through no fault of their own will no longer be eligible for the reduced COBRA premiums. That would mean either going without insurance coverage when it’s most needed, or if eligible, applying for Medicaid at a time when state Medicaid programs are being denied additional federal support.
A new national poll, based on a survey conducted last week, shows that 67 percent favor continuing to extend federal unemployment insurance for those who exhaust their state benefits. The poll also finds that when asked which statement they agree with more, 74 percent agreed that “With unemployment close to ten percent and millions still out of work, it is too early to start cutting back benefits and health coverage for workers who lost their jobs,” while only 21 percent agreed that “With the federal deficit over one trillion dollars, it is time for the government to start reducing spending on health care subsidies and unemployment benefits for the unemployed.”
“The public overwhelmingly supports continued aid for the unemployed as joblessness still affects a stunning 15 million Americans,” said Christine Owens, Executive Director of the National Employment Law Project. “We cannot let a handful of misguided deficit hawks pull the plug on benefits that are precisely the kind of stimulus needed for economic recovery and deficit reduction. Given the choice, the vast majority of the American people would provide unemployed workers and their communities the benefits they continue to need – Congress should be listening to them,” she said.
Call your Senators toll-free at 888-254-5087. Tell them to pass the extended federal unemployment insurance programs retroactive to June 2 and restore the COBRA insurance and FMAP state Medicaid support.
Tags: COBRA, jobless benefits extension, unemployment
Ominous signs emerged last week that a threat to undermine an economic recovery is afoot, and that threat has particularly severe consequences for America’s 15 million unemployed.
Before voting on an already scaled-down jobs and jobless aid bill, House Democrats succumbed to pressure from conservative Blue Dogs and nervous moderates and weakened the bill further, eliminating some of its core provisions.
Then, despite narrowly passing the bill on a vote of 214 to 205, the House joined the Senate in leaving town for a week-long recess — allowing eligibility for extended federal unemployment insurance programs to expire June 2.
As a result, an estimated 300,000 long-term unemployed will go without benefits by June 12, and 1.2 million would lose those payments in the month of June unless the program is retroactively, fully restored.
The changes made to the House bill were numerous. First, the provisions to continue the extended federal jobless benefits through Dec. 31 were changed to Nov. 30. This is not insignificant. It would mean that, from now on, newly unemployed Americans, like those 460,000 who have been filing initial state unemployment claims on average each week, would no longer be eligible for extended benefits. The newly unemployed would only qualify for the regular 26-weeks of state benefits.
With long-term unemployment continuing to rise, and more than five job-seekers for every opening, this is just part of a looming potential disaster.
Even worse, the provisions to continue the federal COBRA health insurance subsidy for newly unemployed workers was eliminated from the bill completely. Without the COBRA extension, newly unemployed workers would have to pay 100 percent of monthly premiums to keep their health insurance. For many workers with families that would mean that 40 percent or more of the unemployment check would go for insurance — that is before any actual medical or other expenses.
Clearly, the effect would be for many to simply drop their coverage, and those who might qualify would apply for Medicaid, putting additional pressure on state Medicaid finances at a time when the states can ill-afford it.
Worse still, as the AP reported, the $24 billion in continued aid to the states to help their Medicaid programs was also eliminated.
A modest $1 billion summer youth jobs plan was kept in the bill, but that will barely make a dent in the near 20 percent unemployment rate among those age 16 to 24.
All of these developments point to the fact that too many Congressional Democrats are choosing to do the Republicans’ bidding for them. Fearful of being attacked for the new bogeyman word “spending”, they are now caught in the booby trap of asserting that current spending — to provide essential support for the still very weak economy and job market — somehow represents a threat to our economic future.
But while, in a sense, it’s all for show, it’s both disingenuous and dangerous. They raise a cry that spending must be “paid for” — but when they had a chance to do that in this bill, they buckled to pressure from wealthy hedge fund and private equity managers. The amount of their incomes that would be taxed at regular federal income tax rates, instead of the current 15 percent ‘capital gains’ rate, was reduced by 25 percent at the last minute. And then the actual implementation of those new tax policies — which would make them pay according to the same rates as the rest of us — was pushed back to next year. “Paid for” indeed.
This is the worst possible time to start dismantling the fiscal pylons that have thus far stabilized the economy and allowed for the beginnings of a recovery. As Christina Romer, chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, has reminded us — think 1937. In response to a policy pivot that emphasized short-term deficit reduction and lower spending, the still-weak economy headed back into a second severe recession.
That the short-term deficit argument was, temporarily, accepted then is understandable. After 1932, under the New Deal, unemployment had been steadily declining for four straight years and GDP growth had been averaging 9 percent annually. That is far from the case today. Recent GDP growth of about 3 percent is less than half that needed for sustained recovery. And unemployment has not shown any sustained, measurable decline. To the contrary, we’ve had 15 million unemployed each month for nearly a full year.
In Paris last week, Romer warned against taking the 1937 road.
The economy is at risk of sliding back into a double-dip recession. And pulling out the fiscal supports, especially for the unemployed and for state Medicaid programs, is certain to increase that risk dramatically.
After asserting pressure to weaken the House jobs and jobless aid bill last week, more than 30 Blue Dog and moderate Democrats voted against the bill anyway. Like BP in the Gulf, they will disregard the warning signs and proceed in a full state of denial, as if the worst can’t happen. They seek to deconstruct the underpinnings of a nascent recovery, eliminating supports that are keeping the economy from literally crushing both low-income working families and, especially, the unemployed.
These moves could be called a lot of things, but ‘smart’ isn’t one of them.
In his column this weekend titled “The Pain Caucus”, Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman warned:
What’s the greatest threat to our still-fragile economic recovery? Dangers abound, of course. But what I currently find most ominous is the spread of a destructive idea: the view that now, less than a year into a weak recovery from the worst slump since World War II, is the time for policy makers to stop helping the jobless and start inflicting pain.
The sudden political lurch toward short-term deficit reduction and spending cuts (is anyone else baffled by the lack of discussion of bloated defense spending and the cost of the wars?) has Democrats doing the Republicans’ bidding. If they succeed they will cause massive economic misery for millions already struggling. And they will undermine any recovery, making the economic situation worse. Then, with the November mid-term elections approaching, Republicans will blame Democrats for a worsening economy.
We’re at an ominous crossroads, and a dangerous one at that.
Tags: COBRA, jobless benefits extension, Jobs, unemployment
A new jobs bill that the House expects to take up shortly includes a year-end extension of eligibility and continued future funding for all of the expanded federal unemployment insurance and COBRA programs.
Urgent action is needed to pass this legislation quickly, as eligibility for these critical programs is set to expire June 2 unless Congress acts.
More than 10 million Americans currently depend on unemployment insurance while they look for work, including 5.4 million who rely on the federal programs that extend jobless aid to those out of work longer than 26 weeks.
According to the Economic Policy Institute:
Nearly 46% of unemployed workers have been jobless for at least six months, representing the highest long-term unemployment rate in at least six decades. Those workers face dim employment prospects with well over five unemployed workers competing for every available job.
The bill being prepared in the House, H.R. 4213, is now called the Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, and it includes not only the year-end unemployment and COBRA extensions, but a host of other major provisions designed to bolster jobs and recovery while making wealthy Wall Street traders and corporations finally pay their fair share in taxes. I’ll summarize shortly what’s reported to be in the bill.
But first, you need to pick up the phone, call toll-free 888-254-5087 and tell your Representative to vote for H.R. 4213 — the Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act.
Or go here and email your representative now.
And tell them they must get this done before the Memorial Day recess.
Go ahead — I’ll wait….
OK, so let’s take a look at what we expect to see in this new House jobs bill in addition to the year-end eligibility extensions for the federal unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidy programs.
The bill reportedly will include an extension of FMAP, the federal assistance to states for support of Medicaid, through mid-2011, as well as a one-year extension of the TANF Emergency Fund, which provides funds to states for employment programs and support for needy families.
It includes funding to support more than 350,000 summer jobs for young people ages 16 to 21, an age group that currently faces a 25 percent unemployment rate.
The bill would also support infrastructure investment to create jobs by extending Build America Bonds and other tax credit bonds to spur investment in economic recovery zones.
A five year extension of the so-called “doctor fix” to prevent reductions in Medicare payments, thus ensuring access to physician choice for seniors, is also expected in the bill.
Other provisions would extend the National Flood Insurance Program through the end of 2010; extend affordable small business lending programs and research and development tax credits for businesses supporting American jobs; extend tax relief to middle-class families and individuals; distribute funding for surface transportation projects; and support the National Housing Trust Fund to help build and maintain affordable rental housing.
So, what about the closing tax loopholes part? This is good. Really good.
Significant parts of the bill would be paid for by eliminating the tax incentives that encourage companies to ship American jobs overseas. The bill would prevent corporations from using current U.S. foreign tax credit rules to subsidize their foreign activities, and close a host of corporate tax loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying U.S. taxes through a variety of foreign tax credit schemes.
But here’s the best part. You know how working folks are required to pay regular income and employment taxes? Even if you are unemployed you likely have to pay the regular income tax on your unemployment insurance payments. But wealthy investment fund managers don’t. No siree. The fees they “earn” are taxed as so-called “carried interest”, a tax loophole that allows their income to be taxed at only 15 percent, as if it were capital gains.
Super-rich hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers and other high-flying Wall Street traders pay a much lower tax rate than working people do — even if you’re on unemployment! And taxpayers are left holding the bag for an estimated $2 billion a year in lost revenues due to this one loophole.
Well, they helped bring down the economy while making out like bandits — and now it’s high time they paid their fair share. This jobs bill would close their “carried interest” tax loophole.
The Center for American Progress has a good overview of the expected legislation posted today.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has an excellent report on why the legislation is needed, and why budgetary objections to it are misplaced and economically wrong-headed.
Tags: COBRA, HR 4213, jobless benefits extension, Jobs, unemployment
Congress is expected to again take up a year-end extension of the expanded federal unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidy programs as part of a larger measure that includes fiscal aid to states and other key safety net provisions.
More than 10 million jobless Americans currently receive unemployment insurance, including 5.4 million in the extended federal programs.
An extension of eligibility and funding for these programs through the end of 2010 had already passed the House and Senate earlier this year. But differences between the House and Senate versions had been holding up a final bill.
In April, meanwhile, another two-month emergency stopgap measure was approved by Congress and signed by President Obama, despite continuous obstructions from Senate Republicans. Those extensions, though, will expire on June 2.
The New York Times is now reporting that Congressional Democrats have negotiated a new version, which they intend to bring up in the House as early as Wednesday of this week.
The House, which in December narrowly passed a $154 billion stimulus package that hit a wall in the Senate, plans to debate a substitute of at least that size that Democratic Congressional leaders have negotiated; it would extend myriad popular business tax breaks and aid for the unemployed and hard-hit states.
In an action alert the National Employment Law Project (NELP) said:
Call on Congress to Extend Filing Deadline Through 2010.
Measure needed to provide for federal extensions, COBRA subsidies, and $25 weekly benefit supplement through the end of 2010
The latest stop-gap measure of federal extensions (including both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits programs), the additional $25 per week in everyone’s benefits check, and COBRA subsidies for jobless workers are set to expire on June 2, 2010. The House and Senate have been sitting on legislation that could extend these programs through the end of 2010 since March of this year. Time is running out, and the House is set to consider a compromise version of this bill this week. If passed, it will finally extend these programs through the end of the year. We are urging the House of Representatives take immediate action this week and make sure that federal UI and COBRA supplements are not allowed to expire.
Action is needed right now. Tell Congress to pass the year-end extensions of unemployment insurance and COBRA programs immediately!
NELP has a Congressional action page to contact your Representative.
Jobs for America Now also has an action page called “Finish the Job” that explains the bill and its programs, and lets you enter your phone number to be automatically connected to your Representative. Do it!
Or you can call Congress toll-free at 888-254-5087.
Tell Congress that one-month or two-month stopgap measures will not do. They need to pass the year-end federal unemployment eligibility extension this week.
Tags: COBRA, jobless benefits extension, unemployment
Congress passed and President Obama signed an emergency restoration of extended unemployment and COBRA subsidy programs late yesterday. The bill continues federal jobless benefits through the end of May and provides for payments retroactive to April 5. As a result, unemployment checks will continue to go out to those long-term unemployed who had exhausted their 26-week state benefits, and to those whose eligibility for the next level of extensions had ended in the last ten days.
The measure was needed to restore funding and access to the programs, which had expired when the Senate failed to overcome the Republican obstruction led by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) prior to the Congressional recess, which began March 26.
It also gives House and Senate Democratic leaders time to reconcile the revenue sources needed to fund several budget-related components in the larger, full-year extension bills passed earlier.
The measure also restores federal flood insurance programs and back pay for federal transportation workers. It does not create additional unemployment extensions beyond EUC Tiers I through IV and the existing Extended Benefits programs.
Four weeks after first taking up the short-term emergency extension, the Senate late yesterday overcame another Republican filibuster and then voted to approve the bill by a vote of 58 to 39. Fifty-five Democrats voted in favor of the measure, and they were joined by three Republicans — Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine, and retiring Senator George Voinovich of Ohio. Three Democratic Senators, whose votes were not needed to reach the majority required, were reportedly engaged in committee discussions and did not vote.
When the Senate vote was recorded the bill was sent to the House, which immediately scheduled its vote. Two hours later the House approved the Senate bill by a vote of 289 to 112, with 49 Republicans joining 240 Democrats voting in favor of the measure. Thirty members, whose votes were not needed for a majority to be reached, were not present for the vote. All Democrats present voted for the bill with the single exception of Rep. Jim Cooper (TN-5).
The New York Times has a graphical breakdown of the House vote, as well as a very useful interactive map of the vote by Congressional district.
President Obama signed the short-term extension bill late last night, and the White House released this statement:
Statement by the President on Passage of Temporary Extension of Jobless Benefits
“In these tough economic times, it is more critical than ever to bring relief to Americans who are working every day to find a job, and families that are struggling to make ends meet. Millions of Americans who lost their jobs in this economic crisis depend on unemployment and health insurance benefits to get by as they look for work and get themselves back on their feet. I’m grateful that the House and Senate moved forward on this temporary extension today. But as I requested in my budget, I urge Congress to move quickly to extend these benefits through the end of this year. I also urge Congress to move forward on legislation to help small businesses grow and hire and other measures to increase the pace of job growth. This is my top priority, and I will fight day and night until every American who wants a good job has one.”
Tags: COBRA, jobless benefit extension, unemployment
The Senate finds itself in an all-too-familiar but very uncomfortable place, facing an April 5 expiration of expanded unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidy programs while it looks to adjourn for a two-week recess this Friday. Despite the fact that both the House and the Senate already passed bills extending those and other programs through the end of 2010, differences between those bills still need to be worked out, something that won’t happen immediately. That means that the Senate will need to pass yet another 30-day extension, something the House has already accomplished.
If this all sounds a bit like the movie Groundhog Day there’s good reason. This is at least the fourth time since last Fall that Congress has had to take up an emergency short-term extension of these critically needed benefits for millions of unemployed.
This time, if the Senate fails to act in time, an estimated one million jobless Americans could lose their unemployment benefits entirely in the month of April alone.
Last time, you’ll recall, the week-long shameless obstruction led by Republican Senator Jim Bunning (KY) was finally defeated and the programs were continued to April 5. Now that deadline isn’t just right around the corner — it’s practically upon us as the Senate plans to take two-weeks off starting the end of this week.
“The Senate has a very important obligation to the unemployed of this country and their families,” Judy Conti, federal advocacy coordinator for the National Employment Law Project, told me today. “Once they finish the business of reforming health care this week, they must pass the 30-day extension of the UI and COBRA programs,” she said, adding that “Senate leadership must commit to staying in session until it is passed, and no one should obstruct this important piece of legislation that is the only lifeline for a million workers next month alone.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) reportedly will seek to bring the 30-day extension to a vote under a unanimous consent request, as he did in late February for the previous emergency extension. Whether Bunning or other Republicans would object, forcing a more time consuming set of procedural votes, is uncertain. Republicans could also stall, or endanger timely passage completely, by trying to insist on changes to the bill passed by the House.
If Republicans, tired and bruised by their defeats on health care reform, want to go home for recess, they won’t stand in the way of continuing unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. But if they do attempt their usual obstructions again this time, the Democrats should keep them in session until it is passed.
Tell the Senate to pass the 30-day unemployment and COBRA benefits extension immediately. Click here to send your Senators that message now.
Tags: COBRA, Jim Bunning, unemployment, unemployment extension
