President Barack Obama signed into law a measure restoring unemployment benefits that were cut off to more than 2.5 million Americans by an election-year fight over whether the cost should be added to the federal deficit.
Obama acted a few hours after the House gave final approval to the $34 billion plan on a 272-152 vote. Ten Democrats opposed the bill; 31 Republicans supported it. The Senate passed the legislation yesterday 59-39.
“Americans who are fighting to find a good job and support their families will finally get the support they need to get back on their feet during these tough economic times,” Obama said in a statement.
The president criticised Republicans for trying to block the measure and called on Congress to pass legislation that would boost lending and cut taxes for small businesses.
The usually routine unemployment aid extension had been bogged down for weeks in the Senate where Republicans unsuccessfully demanded that it be financed with savings elsewhere in the government’s budget.
“All I can say is, it’s about time,” said Representative James McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat. “For seven weeks millions of Americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own have worried about how they’re going to pay for their groceries, pay for their rent, pay for their mortgage or pay for their children’s college tuition.”
Deficit effect
Republicans said they support the extended benefits and opposed the measure only because of its effect on the deficit.
“Are we going to engage in fiscal child abuse and borrow the money, principally from the Chinese, to pay for this? Or are we not? That’s the question,” said Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican.
The seating of the late Senator Robert Byrd’s successor, Carte Goodwin, gave Democrats the last vote needed to break a Republican filibuster this week.
The bill provides retroactive aid to those whose checks were cut off when benefits expired June 2, while extending through November a program offering up to 99 weeks of assistance.
The jobless can expect to begin receiving checks again as soon as next week, though some states will likely take longer, said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for the unemployed. Benefits vary by state, ranging from $235 per week in Mississippi to $629 per week in Massachusetts. The national average is $310.
