"Since October, I have been attempting to forge consensus on an economic recovery package that includes an extension of unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks," said Senator Collins. "Because the Senate did not act swiftly to enact this key assistance, the unemployment rolls have swelled by 900,000 in the intervening period, and more than 1.2 million Americans have exhausted their unemployment benefits before finding employment."
"I am disappointed that Senate Majority Leader Daschle has pulled economic recovery legislation from consideration in the Senate and that we were unable to reach agreement on this vital economic assistance. Nevertheless, I am pleased that extending unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks has been agreed to by Democrats and Republicans alike, and that the Senate has approved a straightforward, bipartisan extension of benefits for these struggling families, something I first called for months ago."
An extension of unemployment benefits would provide up to 13 weeks of extra assistance for workers who have used up, or will use up, their 26 weeks of basic unemployment coverage. Collins proposed the idea when she authored a five-point economic recovery package in early October 2001. The Senator has continued to press the issue, as the latest statistics for the state of Maine indicate that more than 10,000 Maine people exhausted the full 26 weeks of unemployment benefits in 2001 without finding another job.
In December 2001 alone, nearly 300,000 unemployed workers nationwide exhausted their benefits, up 70 percent from one year ago. Even if the economy begins to recover in the first half of 2002, as many analysts predict, overall unemployment is likely to continue rising for some time. At the end of the last recession in the early 1990s, the unemployment rate continued to rise for 15 months after the overall recovery had begun. The long-term unemployed are typically the last to join in the economic recovery. On average, the unemployment rate for those who have been jobless for more than 26 weeks continued to rise for nine months after the economy had begun to recover.
"Unlike other proposals, extended unemployment compensation goes to those who desperately need resources to purchase food, pay their bills, and clothe their children. These are our neighbors and relatives who have been hurt by the economic downturn, and they will benefit from this desperately needed assistance."