Workers To Lose Unemployment Benefits

This week, an estimated 13,400 out-of-work Virginians may go home to an empty mailbox. That’s according to recent numbers by the U.S. Labor Department.

Their unemployment benefits have run out and a bill to extend them is stalled in the Senate. Democratic Senator Mark Warner says despite some job growth, the employment picture in the Commonwealth is still a patchwork.

Warner:  Parts of our state are doing relatively well; we’re way below the national average, but then we have communities like Martinsville, VA, that have gotten north of 22 percent.

Warner says for now, though, benefits need to go forward. Last week, he and Senator Jim Webb voted to move ahead with the measure, which also includes tax cuts and Medicaid help for states.

Warner:  I do think we need an extension, but I think we also need to put a tail on this. We need to say at some point, this program can’t be extended forever, paid for or unpaid for, because otherwise, we’re creating a whole new welfare benefit.

Under senate rules, the $118 billion price tag of the bill,  must be paid for, though as pressure tightens to pass this legislation, even that is up for debate.

From Capitol News Connection, Jessica Stone, WCVE News, Washington