LadyMod at scam.com
11-14-2007, 08:21 AM
Editorial (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/opinion/14wed3.html?th&emc=th)
Job Insecurities
Published: November 14, 2007
Whether they blame the housing bust or the credit squeeze or globalization, Americans are increasingly worried about losing their jobs. When House members go home for their extended Thanksgiving break they can at least assure anxious constituents that they’re trying to make joblessness less devastating. Senators may have to think about vacationing elsewhere.
Last month, 38 House Republicans joined 226 Democrats to pass a bill that would expand unemployment compensation to many workers who currently don’t qualify and would provide special help to workers who lose their jobs to trade competition. In the Senate, bills on the same issues have yet to be voted out of the finance committee.
Like the House’s reform of unemployment insurance, the Senate’s measure would require states to update their jobless benefits if they want to receive a share of $7 billion in new federal funds. Among the changes, 31 states that still use a 30-year-old eligibility formula would need to change their criteria, a move that would extend benefits to 300,000 mostly low-wage workers who currently collect nothing when they lose their jobs.
The Senate Finance Committee is also sitting on legislation that would help workers displaced by foreign competition. Both the House and Senate versions — expansions of the Labor Department’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program for manufacturing workers — would increase funding for retraining and help unemployed workers hang on to their health insurance during a period of joblessness. And both bills expand the program to include service-sector workers, a necessary development as offshoring increasingly affects both blue- and white-collar jobs.
Americans rightly expect their government to help when they face economic hardship beyond their control. Preparing for layoffs, whether brought on by a downturn or by the ongoing shift to a globalized economy, is the least that lawmakers can do.
If the Senate acts quickly to pass these measures, there would be enough time to meld the Senate and House bills into one for final passage before the Christmas break. That would mean everyone in Congress would have good news to bear when they go home for the holidays.
.
Job Insecurities
Published: November 14, 2007
Whether they blame the housing bust or the credit squeeze or globalization, Americans are increasingly worried about losing their jobs. When House members go home for their extended Thanksgiving break they can at least assure anxious constituents that they’re trying to make joblessness less devastating. Senators may have to think about vacationing elsewhere.
Last month, 38 House Republicans joined 226 Democrats to pass a bill that would expand unemployment compensation to many workers who currently don’t qualify and would provide special help to workers who lose their jobs to trade competition. In the Senate, bills on the same issues have yet to be voted out of the finance committee.
Like the House’s reform of unemployment insurance, the Senate’s measure would require states to update their jobless benefits if they want to receive a share of $7 billion in new federal funds. Among the changes, 31 states that still use a 30-year-old eligibility formula would need to change their criteria, a move that would extend benefits to 300,000 mostly low-wage workers who currently collect nothing when they lose their jobs.
The Senate Finance Committee is also sitting on legislation that would help workers displaced by foreign competition. Both the House and Senate versions — expansions of the Labor Department’s Trade Adjustment Assistance program for manufacturing workers — would increase funding for retraining and help unemployed workers hang on to their health insurance during a period of joblessness. And both bills expand the program to include service-sector workers, a necessary development as offshoring increasingly affects both blue- and white-collar jobs.
Americans rightly expect their government to help when they face economic hardship beyond their control. Preparing for layoffs, whether brought on by a downturn or by the ongoing shift to a globalized economy, is the least that lawmakers can do.
If the Senate acts quickly to pass these measures, there would be enough time to meld the Senate and House bills into one for final passage before the Christmas break. That would mean everyone in Congress would have good news to bear when they go home for the holidays.
.