WASHINGTON, DC – Once again, citing the need for urgent, bipartisan action, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today took to the floor of the Senate today to help advance a bipartisan agreement to reauthorize emergency unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for 5 months.

“The Senate needs to do everything it can to help create jobs, improve our economy and address the basic needs of the average American,” said Reed.  “So I’m glad we've reached a principled bipartisan compromise and it deserves to move forward quickly so we can provide much-needed relief to our constituents and to strengthen our economy.”

“I'd like to begin by thanking my friend from Rhode Island for his continued work to help the American people by temporarily extending unemployment insurance benefits,” said Senator Dean Heller (R-NV). “This is something that he and I have been working on together since this past December. We are pleased to have finally reached a bipartisan agreement that can pass this chamber. I admire my colleague's dedication and I'm greatly pleased we're here this week to support our efforts to keep American families on their feet during this tough economy.”

The Reed-Heller bipartisan compromise (S. 2149) is cosponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Rob Portman (R-OH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Dick Durbin (D-IL). 

The bill seeks to strengthen the U.S. economy while providing vulnerable job seekers and their families with a vital lifeline as they continue to look for work. The proposal is fully paid-for using a combination of offsets that includes extending “pension smoothing” provisions from the 2012 highway bill (MAP-21), which were set to phase out this year, and extending customs user fees through 2024.  The bill also includes an additional offset allowing single-employer pension plans to prepay their flat rate premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). The plan will allow for retroactive payments to eligible beneficiaries going back to December 28th.

In an effort to help get job seekers back into the workforce, individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation would be eligible for enhanced, personalized assessments and referrals to reemployment services when they begin their 27th week of UI (Tier I) and 55th week of UI (Tier III).

Failing to reauthorize emergency UI assistance puts a dent in job-seekers’ incomes, reduces consumer demand, and could cost our economy up to 240,000 jobs in 2014.

The Reed-Heller bill needs 60 votes to advance in the Senate and a series of votes will be scheduled on the bill this week.  Reed and Heller have expressed confidence that they have the votes to pass the measure in the full U.S. Senate and are urging House Speaker John Boehner to vote on the bipartisan compromise.

Reed made the following remarks today on the Senate floor (video available here):

MR. REED: The Senate needs to do everything it can to help create jobs, improve our economy and address the basic needs of the average American.

Unfortunately, many efforts to make meaningful progress on these issues have been thwarted in the last few months. Specifically, for the last 87 days, emergency assistance for job seekers has been blocked by gridlock. And despite the best efforts of several of my colleagues, including my colleague and friend, Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, today over 2.2 million Americans are being denied vital assistance in what remains a very difficult economy.

But I’m pleased to say that a group of five Republicans and five Democrats have reached a principled compromise to end this impasse and help get people back on their feet. Indeed, Senators Heller, Merkley, Collins, Booker, Portman, Brown, Murkowski, Durbin and Kirk have introduced a bill to continue emergency unemployment insurance for five months retroactive from December 28th.

As I have advocated, this bill contains no cuts to the weeks of benefits available or the structure of the tiers of benefits, nor does it include other problematic policy changes. It is, however, fully paid for and includes some positive reforms that better align the unemployment insurance and work force systems to help get people back to work sooner. It also includes language that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle sought and previously have -- we've passed in the senate 100-0, which would prohibit millionaires from receiving federal emergency benefits.

I want to thank Senator Heller for his commitment to this issue, for his steadfastness and for recognizing that this shouldn't be a partisan issue. He's been an extraordinarily thoughtful, collaborative and constructive colleague in trying to bring this issue to the floor.  I also want to particularly thank Senators Collins, Murkowski, Portman and Kirk because they also have been extremely thoughtful, tireless and resolute in their efforts to find a pathway forward.  They’ve all brought constructive ideas to the table and we’ve been able to craft a principled compromise that will provide immediate aid to an estimated 2.7 million Americans, including 12,000 Rhode Islanders.

This is a vital lifeline that can mean the difference between making the rent payment, putting enough food on the table and keeping the heat on as our constituents search for work in an economy where there are still more than two job seekers for every opening, and in fact some places three job seekers for every opening. I've been working since last year to extend these benefits.  And every day that passes is another day that hard working Americans don't have the same type of aid as those who were unemployed and looking for work last year had.

So I’m glad we've reached a principled bipartisan compromise and it deserves to move forward quickly so we can provide much-needed relief to our constituents and to strengthen our economy.

Now, I understand there have been administrative concerns raised by this bill by the National Association of State Work Force Agencies, which Speaker Boehner appears to be using as a reason to not take up this bipartisan compromise. Frankly, madam president, quote "administrative challenges" should not be a reason to deny aid to working Americans who lost their job through no fault of their own and are out there hitting the pavement searching for work in a challenging economy.

Also, the Secretary of Labor has sent Congress a letter addressing all the concerns raised by the national group.  This letter notes that the Secretary of Labor is quote confident that there are workable solutions for all the concerns raised by NASWA.  From the Great Recession to the present, the Congress has worked in a bipartisan fashion to enact 12 different expansions or extensions to the EUC program.  A number of extensions included changes to the program that were as or more complex than those included in the current bill.  The Department of Labor has consistently worked with states to implement these extensions in an effective, collaborative and prompt fashion and will do so again.

Indeed, the states have implemented benefits retroactively several weeks after the program has expired previously.  And I would like to add that my colleagues who have joined as cosponsors of this bill, out of an abundance of caution and a desire to allay these administrative concerns, have included clarifying language to ensure that administrative funding constraints relating to the prohibition on millionaires receiving emergency unemployment insurance could not be read in an overly broad fashion.  So that will make this administratively easier to implement.

I look forward to debating this bill later this week and I'm hopeful that with this strong, bipartisan showing, we can convince our colleagues on the other side of the capitol that this is the right thing to do for the economy and for working Americans who lost their job through no fault of their own and who are searching for work.

Again, I am delighted to join Senator Heller in this effort and our other Republican cosponsors. They have been extraordinarily thoughtful, constructive, and collaborative and in so, they have served not only their constituents but this Senate and this country with great and deeply appreciated effort.  Thank you.

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