COLUMBUS, Ohio – Both of Ohio’s senators have signed on to a $9.7 billion compromise measure extending long-term benefits for an estimated 2 million unemployed workers, including thousands of Ohioans.
It could prove to be one partisan election-year battle that could be resolved when lawmakers return from recess later this month.
A bipartisan group of 10 Senate negotiators, including Democrat Sherrod Brown (below) and Republican Rob Portman (left), say they’ve agreed to a five-month extension of the emergency benefits, paid for by boosting some federal revenues.
“This agreement is the first step toward reforming a broken program into a safety net that helps the unemployed quickly reenter the workforce and get back on their feet. I’m especially pleased we were able to find a way to pay for the extension so that we’re not adding to our record debt,” Portman said.
The proposal also includes language Portman pushed for providing those receiving benefits with help finding new jobs, including access to information about industry credentials that can be used in other states.
The revived coverage would be retroactive to Dec. 28, when the recession-era program expired, denying emergency coverage to more than 52,000 Ohioans whose 63 weeks of eligibility had been exhausted, Brown said.
“Too many of these Ohioans paid into unemployment insurance while they were working, but were left without a critical lifeline when they needed it due to congressional action. This deal will ensure that Ohioans who work hard and take responsibility will have the resources they need to take care of their families while looking for a new job,” he said.
Brown claims that another 76,000 Ohioans could lose their unemployment benefits by the end of the year if Congress doesn’t agree on a long-term extension is not passed. Citing data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Brown’s office says that number includes 6,491 people in central Ohio.
Approval of the measure seemed likely by the Democratic-led Senate when it returns in late March from a weeklong recess. That would throw the issue into the Republican-run House, where its fate is uncertain.
Brown and Portman say the proposal is paid for through a combination of “pension smoothing” provisions from the 2012 highway bill, extended customs user fees an additional offset allowing single-employer pension plans to prepay their flat rate premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
The measure also denies benefits to millionaires.
The negotiations were led by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV). Along with Brown and Portman, it has gained the support of Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Arkansas, Mark Kirk of Illinois and his Democratic counterpart Dick Durbin, as well as fellow Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon and New Jersey’s Cory Booker.