Washington, DC – Last night Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore) voted with a majority in the House to extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks to hundreds of thousands of workers who have lost their jobs and exhausted, or will soon exhaust, their benefits.

In Oregon, where unemployment is a record 12.2%, almost 5,000 workers will exhaust their benefits by the end of September and more than 11,000 will lose their benefits by the end of December.
 
“Oregon is experiencing record unemployment, and extending unemployment benefits will help thousands of workers get back on their feet,” said Congressman Blumenauer. “This is not a handout, but an investment that will keep families secure and help people find new jobs. Extending these benefits is a cost-effective way to stimulate the economy, with every dollar spent spurring new economic demand. In combination with the jobs being created by the Recovery Act this is sound policy that will lead to economic growth.”

The bill, H.R. 3548, is being brought to the floor by the Ways and Means Committee, on which Rep. Blumenauer serves.

H.R. 3548 will not add to the deficit:  it extends the federal unemployment tax for one year, which has been in place for more than 30 years, and will require better reporting on newly hired employees (start date) to reduce unemployment insurance overpayments.

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