Obama and McConnell have done a terrible job in explaining what is and what is not included in the Unemployment benefits extension. Here are the facts in a nutshell:
- Total weeks you can draw unemployment benefits: 99 weeks (Approximately 23 months)
- What makes up the 99 Weeks of unemployment benefits?
- First 26 Weeks (6 months) are paid by State Unemployment agencies
- Subsequent 73 Weeks (about 16+ months) of Federal Tiers of Unemployment Benefits.
- What was extended if the deal goes through?
- The 73 weeks of Federal Tiers were set to expire at the end of December so there would be no Federal Unemployment Benefits available to anyone in 2011. This deal extended the availability of the Federal Tiers through the end of 2011 for those who have not drawn all of their combined 99 weeks of Federal and State Unemployment Benefits.
Obama keeps confusing everyone by his own statements. Today he said; “There are people right now who, when their unemployment insurance runs out, will not be able to pay the bills.” If they have already drawn unemployment benefits for 99 weeks, they will not receive any more payments under Obama’s proposal. They will not be able to “pay the bills”. So much for the great communicator; or maybe he doesn’t even understand the difference. Those who have received benefits for 99 weeks have been nicknamed “99ers”. For the 99ers, there is nothing on the horizon that will help extend your benefits.
If you have been watching CNN, Fox News, or ABC news, they are incorrectly reporting that if you have hit the 99 week limit, you will receive 13 more months of benefits. That is totally inaccurate.
RD Pierini
References:
Ace of Spades, Gabriel Malor: http://minx.cc/?post=309124
Michelle Malkin: http://michellemalkin.com/2010/12/08/small-biz-killers-who-pays-for-jobless-benefits/
