In an effort to provide relief to struggling families and help local businesses, Senator Reed authored legislation seeking to extend federal jobless benefits through 2012. This would help preserve and spur demand for local businesses by helping people pay their bills while they look for a new job. Reed's plan would pump an additional $188 million into Rhode Island's economy and also prevent states and employers from facing automatic tax increases that are otherwise set to be assessed as soon as January 31, 2012.