Congress extends jobless benefits

WASHINGTON (PAI) – With unemployment expected to stay high at least through the first part of 2010, the Democratic-run Congress again extended jobless benefits.  President Barack Obama signed the legislation on Nov. 6.

Senate Republicans delayed the benefits extension for a month by trying to attach unrelated proposals to it.  In the end, they failed, and the bill passed 98-0 in the Senate and with only a handful of GOP foes in the House. The vote there was 403-12.

The legislation provides an additional 14 weeks of benefits to unemployed workers in all states and an additional six weeks for jobless workers in states (like Michigan) with an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher. It means long-term jobless workers could get combined state and federal benefits totaling up to 99 weeks. 

The House first passed a UI extension Sept. 23. But it wasn’t until Nov. 4 that Republicans dropped their fight against the bill and allowed a vote. The House passed the Senate’s version the following day.

In a statement announcing the signing, the White House says the bill “builds on the successes of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help spur job creation and help struggling workers (and) strengthens the safety net for workers who cannot find jobs – immediately helping 700,000 people and eventually helping over a million.”

Republicans, had held up the legislation, Democrats charged, by wanting to tack on unrelated amendments to the jobless benefits extension. Republicans were seeking to offer amendments to stop federal aid to the controversial community activist group ACORN, and requiring people who receive jobless benefits to be processed through and electronic verification system so that employers could check on the immigration status of new hires.

Construction may gain after a rough ‘09               

Next year will probably be a better year for U.S. construction – but that’s only because it’s compared to a sickly building market in 2009.

So says the Engineering News Record, which reported that a consensus of construction forecasts calls it an industry “unable to sustain much forward momentum.” They reported that McGraw-Hill Construction is forecasting the dollar value of total U.S. construction starts in 2010 will climb 11% – but that follows an estimated 25% decline in 2009.