Senate Votes for $5.4 Billion in Jobless Aid

Brushing aside a veto threat by President Bush, the Senate on Friday approved a $5.4-billion bill to continue emergency extension of jobless benefits through next March for workers who exhaust their basic 26-week unemployment payments.

The action, taken by voice vote, clears the way for a Senate-House conference to work out compromise legislation that Congress is expected to adopt before the current program of extra benefits expires on July 4.

The House version of the bill would provide up to 26 additional weeks of benefits to jobless workers and also changes the law to make it easier for future workers to get extended benefits when unemployment is high.

“At first blush, it appears to me the unemployment (compensation) package is headed for another veto,” said Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.). “But we’ll have a chance to negotiate before the bill is sent to the President.”

Bush has backed a less generous bill that would extend benefits by up to 20 weeks and authorize a study on whether to make permanent changes in the program.

With the national jobless rate rising to 7.5% last month, however, Democrats believe they have an election-year advantage in pressing the issue, despite Bush’s misgivings about their legislation.

The Senate bill would continue extra jobless benefits for 33 or 26 weeks, depending on jobless levels in a worker’s state, unless the national unemployment rate dropped below 7% for two months in a row. If that happened, the number of additional weeks would be gradually reduced.

The House bill would provide 20 or 26 weeks of extra jobless benefits, phasing out over a three-month period starting Jan. 1, or one month after the national unemployment rate falls below 6.5%.

The benefits now average about $170 a week, but vary by state. An estimated 300,000 workers who use up their regular benefits each month would be helped by the bill.

“Despite some positive signs that the economy is beginning to move a little, the situation remains very grim for 9.5 million unemployed Americans, and the need for new legislation is clear,” said Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.).