Senator Sherrod Brown Announces More Than $88 Million in New Funds to Help Unemployed Ohioans

New Federal Funds from Economic Recovery Package Will Provide Unemployment Insurance Benefits to Ohioans

June 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced today $88.2 million in new federal funds that will help unemployed Ohioans. The funds, passed as part of the economic recovery package, will provide unemployment insurance benefits to unemployed workers.

“Help for unemployed workers couldn’t come at a better time,” Brown said. “These funds will provide critical assistance to Ohio workers while stimulating the economy. They will be used to help unemployed Ohioans and their families make ends meet and will help displaced workers find new employment opportunities.”

The funds were authorized as part of the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act, components of which were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Brown has been a longtime advocate for modernizing our nation’s unemployment insurance system. In October 2007, Brown first cosponsored the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act, which will provide states with immediate administrative funds to update unemployment insurance systems.

The bill will also provide incentive payments to states adopting measures that improve the solvency and administration of their funds. It is estimated that unemployment insurance modernization will help cover an additional 500,000 workers.

Source: Senator Sherrod Brown