Michigan Governor Granholm Asks Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits

September 15, 2009 -- LANSING - Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today along with 21 other governors sent a letter to congressional leadership asking Congress to extend unemployment benefits. The letter calls on Congress to authorize another extension of benefits and a continuation of extensions already in place through 2010. Some 100,000 unemployed workers in Michigan and 1.4 million nationally are expected to lose their unemployment benefits by the end of this year.

"Unemployment benefits help protect the unemployed during these difficult economic times while injecting money directly into the Michigan economy," Granholm said. "Employment lags behind economic recovery, and we cannot forget that help for unemployed workers and their families remains a critical need."

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Michigan currently provides up to 79 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits: 26 weeks of state benefits, 33 weeks of federally-funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), and 20 weeks of federally-funded extended benefits. Those receiving unemployment benefits are also collecting $25 a week in federal additional compensation (FAC) which is added to their unemployment benefit. Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February pumped over $1 billion of federally funded unemployment benefits into the Michigan economy. Every dollar of unemployment benefits produces $2.15 in economic growth.

Currently, the EUC and FAC programs are scheduled to expire in December 2009.

Several bills have been introduced in Congress that would grant an additional 13 weeks of EUC benefits to states with high unemployment rates such as Michigan. The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing today to discuss how to help people through the unemployment insurance program. Discussions continue to determine exactly what the final package will be.

Source: Michigan Governor