WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Congressman Dan Boren voted Thursday to approve legislation that will aid workers who have lost their jobs as a result of the slowing economy and housing market. The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, HR will immediately provide up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to jobless workers in Oklahoma and was approved by a vote of 279 - 144.
“Hard-working Oklahomans who have lost their jobs need help supporting their families and making ends meet,” Boren said. "Today, Congress passed a bill that will give Americans who have lost their jobs some of the relief they need.”
For the fifth straight month, the economy lost jobs and unemployment rose from 5.0% in April to 5.5% in May. The economy has lost nearly 325,000 jobs this year and 8.5 million Americans are unemployed. While Oklahoma’s statewide unemployment rate of 2.9% is well below the national average, as reported by Oklahoma Exchange Security Commission 16 of the top 20 counties with the highest unemployment rates are in the Second District.
“Just this week we learned the discouraging news of job loss in Pryor that will undoubtedly affect many families in that community,” Boren said. “We are beginning to see how the national economy, financial sectors, and housing market can be affect by national and international factors.”
As reported by Georgia Pacific officials earlier this week, the slumping housing market was cited as the cause for the facility’s closure.
“These types of factors can cause job loss in our local economies, and are completely out of the control of hard-working eastern Oklahomans,” Boren said. “That’s why this legislation is critical for those families who have experienced the pain of job loss while the cost of gas, goods, and services is increasing.”
The legislation approved in the House Thursday would benefit 3.8 million unemployed Americans - providing up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to Oklahoma workers close to exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits. In states with higher levels of unemployment, six percent or higher, an additional 13 weeks would be available for a total of 26 weeks of extended benefits. The legislation will be paid for through the federal unemployment trust funds, which have more than enough reserves to cover the cost, will finance these benefits.
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