Unemployment Bill Debate

In an excerpt from the House floor, members debated the rule for the latest unemployment bill, known as H.R. 3575, The Federal Supplemental Compensation Act. The measure provides 13 to 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits, depending on each state’s individual unemployment rate. This $5.2 billion package would help up to three million Americans who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. The bill represents a compromise between House Democratic leaders and Republican leaders in the Bush administration. It is actually the third unemployment bill drawn up since summer. President Bush vetoed the first two. This new bill is considered “budget-neutral,” in that funds would not come directly from the budget, but rather from additional revenues. Tax collections from upper-income Americans would be accelerated as would collections from those delinquent in re-paying school and other government loans. close