Huey Harden offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - DistributeYourArticles (www.DistributeYourArticles.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. DistributeYourArticles does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: Congress Decides To Extend Jobless Benefits Deadline Author: Huey Harden Category: Politics Word Count: 465 Keywords: health insurance, health care, barack obama, government health care, democrats, republicans Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.distributeyourarticles.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
US Lawmakers voted April 15 to roll forward the last day for unemployed workers to file for extended jobless benefits till June 2, a law President Obama immediately signed into law. This bill will restore federal jobless benefits to over 200,000 jobless Americans who would have been ineligible for them starting April 5. Before the amendment, federal unemployment benefits, which last up to 73 weeks, commence after 26 weeks of initial coverage expire. Benefits are divided into tiers, and jobless applicants must apply for these benefits each time they move into a new level. The amendment extends several provisions until the end of May, including: COBRA health insurance; the National Flood Insurance Program and the copyright license for providers of satellite television. Significantly, it will prevent the reduction of 21% in Medicare payment rates for doctors from kicking in until May 31. Republicans in the Senate have resisted extending unemployment benefits, saying the benefit must be paid for, though this bill has enjoyed a lot of support from both sides. In the United States, about over 11 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, with about 6 million of them enjoying extended benefits. Though the US economy is expected to slowly improve, the unemployment rate still remains at 9.7%, and the projected average unemployment period for an unemployed worker in America is 31.2 weeks. Previously, the state had already passed two short-term extensions of the filing deadline since late December. Furthermore, both House and Senate committees also have passed bills that is pushing back the deadline to file for extended benefits until later in the year, but those measures need to be reconciled. However, there is a problem. Currently, of the 50 states, about 33 states and the US Virgin Islands have already used up their unemployment benefits funds and are forced to borrow from the Federal government to the tune of a whopping $38.7 billion to provide a temporary safety net to millions of jobless claimants. States are going as far as cutting as much extraneous services as they can to keep afloat. From unnecessary entertainment to transport services, these cash-strapped cities are eliminating all kinds of services to save money. Among all states, California has borrowed the most from the government, summing up to more than $8.4 billion, followed by Michigan and New York, which have loans worth more than $3 billion. Nine other states have borrowed at least $1 billion from the federal government. "The nation's financing system for jobless benefits is under unprecedented stress," said Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the New York-based advocacy group for the unemployed. "While the recession has certainly made things worse, this funding crisis has been developing for years." For perspective, before the recession, only 19 states have met the recommended funding level, which is one year of reserves equal to the highest amount of unemployment insurance paid out during prior recessions. Huey Harden is your typical guy from Maine who's fired up and well on his way to developing multiple income streams online. For more information, visit his content and FAQ site at: Get Paid For Your Opinion (http://www.getpaidforyouropinion.net) ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
