WASHINGTON, DC - Tonight, Congressman Mike
Michaud will offer a motion to ensure that funding for unemployment
insurance (UI) is used only to provide assistance for the more than 13
million Americans currently out of work. Michaud's motion would instruct
House negotiators to drop a provision from a bill being negotiated to
extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. That provision
would permit states to use UI funding for other programs and
initiatives.
"The fact is unemployment benefits remain
a crucial resource for American workers who lost their jobs as a result
of the Great Recession and not because of their job performance," said
Michaud. "Using UI funding for anything other than unemployment benefits
for struggling families simply makes no sense."
In
December, the House and Senate passed conflicting versions of a bill
that would extend both the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance
assistance, and House and Senate negotiators are currently working to
broker a compromise. A provision included in the House bill would allow
states to divert UI for purposes other than relief for the unemployed.
States already have the power to determine employer tax rates, benefit
levels, and eligibility criteria.
"In this environment
of reigning in government spending and making sure taxpayer dollars are
used effectively, I think it makes sense to make sure that UI benefits
can't be spent on some other program that won't help families or the
economy like unemployment insurance," Michaud
said.
John P. Graham, Jr.
Deputy Chief of
Staff for Congressman Mike Michaud
