99er LaDonna King Sings a Poignant Version of “Santa Baby”
While Congress spent the lame duck session passing tax breaks for the wealthy, DADT, START, and 9/11 responder assistance, it did not address one of the more tragic consequences of this jobless, slow-motion recovery, the growing population of 99ers — those who have exhausted all available unemployment benefits, in some cases up to 99 weeks.
There were a few halfhearted efforts to address the 99er issue, but all efforts failed. Senator Stabenow (D-MI) in August 2010 introduced the Americans Want to Work Act, which would have added up to 20 weeks of Tier 5 benefits in states with unemployment rates of 7.5 percent or greater. Representative Berkley (D-NV) offered similar legislation in the House that would have added 20 weeks of Tier 5 benefits in states with unemployment rates of 10 percent or greater. The final attempt at 99er assistance was from Representatives Scott (D-VA) and Lee (D-CA) who proposed adding 14 weeks of benefits to Tier 1. That effort failed due to its proximity to the end of the current congressional session.
Read the entire article at Huffington Post.
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