As part of the jobless bill passed today (March 10th), the Senate voted to extend eligibility for unemployment benefits and COBRA through the end of 2010. Today’s Senate bill adds to the legislation passed on March 2nd, which extended eligibility through the end of March.
The House of Representatives still needs to vote on the new bill, which is expected to happen before the end of the month.
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Extended Unemployment Benefits
- Extended unemployment benefits were set expire on February 28, 2010.
- The bill passed on March 2, 2010 renews the unemployment extensions that were enacted during 2009.
- As a reminder, there are currently up to 99 weeks of unemployment insurance available. The maximum benefits apply if the unemployment rate in your state is at least 8.5%.
- Regular unemployment: 26 weeks
- Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC): up to 33 weeks
- Extended Benefits (EB): up to 20 weeks
- Additional EUC: up to 20 weeks
- The new bill extends eligibility for the 3 additional “tiers” of unemployment benefits through the end of March.
Free Financial Assistance
- The U.S. government urges Americans to pay down credit card debt.
- There are currently programs in place to help you do this.
- You can legally cut your credit card debt: reduce your principal balance, stop late fees, and lower your interest rate. Very few people know how to take advantage of these programs.
- Fill out the quick form (it’s free & takes less than a minute) to lower your credit card bills.
COBRA Subsidy
- The 65% subsidy of COBRA health insurance payments has also been extended.
- Workers who lose their jobs through the end of 2010 are eligible for this subsidy.
Additional Unemployment Extensions
- The current bill maintains the $25 weekly increase in benefits put in place last year.
- Congress continues to discuss further unemployment extensions.
- To receive updates about the latest extension developments and to receive the free report, enter your email above.
Here’s what President Obama had to say about unemployment and jobs in his State of the Union speech:
Unemployment
- Bailing Out The Banks. He said that if the government had not gotten involved during the financial crisis, there is a chance that unemployment might be twice what it is today.
- Extensions. The President mentioned the unemployment extension. During the past year, unemployment insurance was “extended or increased” for more than 18 million Americans.
- 2 Million Jobs. Because of the Recovery Act, over 2 million people who otherwise would have been out of work still have their jobs. These include police officers, teachers, prison workers, and fire fighters.
Jobs
- New Jobs. The one specific area of jobs mentioned was clean energy jobs.
- Full Employment. “The only way to move to full employment is to lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth.”
- Financial Reform. By requiring banks to lend to small businesses, President Obama believes that these companies will be able to operate with enough financial stability to retain current employees, raise wages, and hire new workers.
- Encouraging Innovation. The area of focus here was again clean energy. New technology drives economic growth, and economic growth will lead to new jobs.
- Investing in People. President Obama referred to education. He proposed a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college, increasing Pell Grants, and forgiving loans on student debt.
