Jim McDermott Introduces Legislation To Extend Jobless Benefits and Reauthorize ARRA.

Many are wondering what Congress will do about the need for a bill to rectify the glitch in the previous unemployment extension bill passed last month. The deadline for eligibility according to the bill was December 31, 2009 - this meant that anyone who had not yet exhausted their benefits would not be eligible to receive the additional 14 week extension. It also meant that those who had exhausted their benefits and were receiving the 14 week extension would not logically have been able to file for the additional 6 weeks if they were living in a high unemployment state. (The bill was signed into law with fewer than 14 weeks left in the year.)

On Wednesday, House Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced bill HR 4183, which would fix the glitch. The bill would push the deadline back from 12/31/09 until March 31, 2011. This would ensure that millions of unemployed Americans who would have been given the short end of the stick will be eligible for the additional 14-week tier of extensions nationally, and the 6-week tier on top of that in high unemployment states.

This $100 billion bill could be incorporated into the jobs bill currently being assembled, which would then total $300 billion and include state aid, SBA loans, expanding business loans, a work-share program and infrastructure spending.