Del. Senate OK’s Unemployment Insurance Extension

The State Senate has approved a bill that would grant unemployed Delawareans an additional 13 weeks of assistance.

Sen. Robert I. Marshall (D-Wilmington West) said the extra help is needed because the recession’s making it hard for laid off workers to find a new job. National figures show that new jobless claims are falling off, but unemployment is staying at a 25-year high because employers aren’t making new hires.

“There’re Delawareans out there who are seeking employment, and yet the general nature of the national economy and of our state’s economy are not providing opportunities for employment,” Marshall said. “It is basically bread and butter, groceries kind of issue. We want to keep those families safe and secure to the best of our abilities through the unemployment insurance fund.”

Marshall’s bill cleared the Senate on a 19-0 vote and now heads to the House for consideration. Marshall said he has strong support in the House and from Gov. Jack Markell.

“The governor has said he wants to see this bill ASAP,” Marshall said.  “It’s critical that we get it to the governor’s office early next week because, the following week, there are unemployed workers who will be reaching their 59th week of unemployment and will lose their benefits.”

Within the next few weeks between 3,000 and 6,000 out-of-work Delawareans could start exhausting their benefits. House Majority Whip Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) said those numbers should spur quick action.

“I see this bill coming through pretty quickly,” she said. “With 3,000 people that are going to be losing their unemployment, we should be working expeditiously to move it forward.”

As of April, the last month for which state figures were available, Delaware’s unemployment rate was 7.5 percent.

The real number is likely much higher, however, because under a Reagan-era change to unemployment laws, people whose benefits are exhausted are dropped from unemployment rolls. Not only does that skew statistics, but Marshall said it creates real hardships for families.

“It’s a real issue today,” Marshall said. “So we’re more conscious today and aware of those who are about to exhaust their benefits.”

The extension is part federal economic stimulus package. Under the stimulus bill, the state will pay the additional benefit up front and will be reimbursed by the federal government for the cost.

“We will get our money back,” Marshall said. “And to the credit of the Obama-Biden administration and Congress, they have seen the issue and provided us the opportunity to extend these additional 13 weeks of badly needed help.”