June 11, 1974
Page 18642
TEMPORARY INCREASE IN THE PUBLIC DEBT – AMENDMENT NO. 1437
(Ordered to be printed, and referred to the Committee on Finance.) Mr. RIBICOFF (for himself, Mr. MAGNUSON, Mr. CRANSTON, Mr. JAVITS, Mr. PELL, Mr. MUSKIE, Mr. TUNNEY, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. HUGH SCOTT, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. SCHWEIKER, Mr. WILLIAMS, Mr. HART, Mr. CASE, Mr. PASTORE, Mr. STAFFORD, Mr. BROOKE, Mr. HUMPHREY, Mr. MONDALE, Mr. HATHAWAY, and Mr. HATFIELD) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to the bill (H.R. 14832) to provide for a temporary increase in the public debt limit.
EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Mr. RIBICOFF. Mr. President, today I am submitting an amendment to H.R. 14832 to extend the life of the extended benefits unemployment insurance program. This program provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits over and above the 26 weeks of benefits paid under the regular program.
When the extended benefits program was enacted into law back in 1970, there were two requirements for eligibility. First, the State's insured unemployment had to be at 4 percent. And, second, unemployment had to be rising at 20 percent over the previous 2 years. At a time of increasing unemployment, most States could participate because their unemployment was rising at the required 20 percent.
In the last year, however, unemployment has leveled off – often, as in the case of Connecticut, at a relatively high level.
In order to allow States to continue to participate in the extended benefits program, Congress has temporarily waived the 20-percent requirement, most recently in March of 1974 for a 3-month period. As of June 30, 1974, however, no State will be allowed to continue in the extended program unless it meets the 20-percent requirement. My proposal permanently waives the 20-percent requirement.
At the present time the States of California, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington are paying benefits under the extended program. Connecticut has been eligible to pay extended benefits since late February, but the State legislature has failed to enact the enabling legislation necessary to permit an additional 13 weeks of benefits.
If my proposal is adopted, the following States will become eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits:
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
It is time to eliminate – once and for all – the requirement that unemployment be rising at 20 percent. My bill allows States to change their laws so that unemployed workers can receive the additional 13 weeks of benefits without regard to any 20-percent provision.
In Connecticut it is imperative that additional assistance to unemployed workers be provided. In mid-April Connecticut unemployment was estimated at 82,000 or 5.8 percent as compared with 79,100 or 5.7 percent in March. While many of these unemployed workers are receiving unemployment benefits, over 10,000 of them exhausted their 26 weeks of benefits between November of 1973 and February of 1974.
Workers who exhaust their 26 weeks of benefits and still have no jobs will have no place to go except on welfare unless my legislation is enacted. We must provide help for workers and their families who are temporarily out of work. My bill provides that help.
A second provision in my amendment is designed to alleviate a problem unique to the States of Washington and Connecticut. Because of increasing Connecticut unemployment, the State's unemployment fund in the last 2 years has had to borrow $53.5 million from the Federal Government to pay benefits to unemployed Connecticut workers. Connecticut will be unable to make full payment of that loan when it falls due in November of 1974 because of increased demands on its unemployment fund. As a result the law requires the Federal Government to impose steadily increasing unemployment taxes on Connecticut businesses.
An increased tax burden on these firms at this time is unfair. Many marginal employers may be forced to close if the Federal Government increases its tax load.
The Ribicoff proposal provides a 1-year delay for Connecticut and Washington in its loan repayment schedule. This will give Connecticut and Washington an opportunity to strengthen their unemployment reserves without suffering Federal tax penalties.
Both of these measures have passed the Senate on previous occasions. The permanent waiver of the 20-percent provision was adopted as an amendment to H.R. 3153 which has been bogged down in conference since December. The 1-year delay in repayment of Connecticut and Washington unemployment obligations was adopted by the Senate this March but deleted by the House.
I ask unanimous consent that a table and letter be inserted at this point in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the table and letter were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND PUBLIC WELFARE,
Washington, D.C.,
June 10, 1974.
Hon. RUSSELL B. LONG,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR CHAIRMAN LONG: As you will recall, last December the Senate adopted for the third time an amendment to the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Insurance Law that permitted the States to ignore the 120 % trigger requirement in determining their eligibility under the extended benefits program. The amendment will expire on June 30, 1974. It is our understanding that Senator Ribicoff will be offering an amendment, which your Committee will be considering shortly, that would make the amendment eliminating the 120% trigger requirement of the extended benefits program permanent. We urge you and the other members of the Finance Committee to approve Senator Ribicoff's amendment. If the amendment is enacted, it would permit thirteen States to continue paying benefits under the extended benefits program. An additional eleven States would also be eligible to participate in the program if and when their State legislatures enact appropriate enabling legislation.
According to the most recent Department of Labor estimates furnished to us, if this amendment is enacted about 1,418,000 workers who would otherwise exhaust their benefits during fiscal year 1975 would potentially become eligible to receive thirteen additional weeks of compensation.
The actual number of beneficiaries would, of course, depend on the number of States choosing to take advantage of this legislation and to participate in the extended benefits program.
If Senator Ribicoff's amendment is adopted, the following twenty-four States would be eligible to take advantage of the program:
Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
It is our belief that modification of the trigger requirements is essential in order to provide relief for unemployed workers in these States. Unless something is done now, all but two of these States will be barred from participating in this program and hundreds of workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits will be forced to seek public welfare assistance or prematurely take jobs far beneath their earning potential and job capabilities.
The Committee has recognized the necessity of modifying the trigger requirements of the 1970 Extended Benefits Program on several previous occasions. We hope it will now take this opportunity to eliminate the 120% trigger requirement permanently.
With best wishes,
Sincerely,
Jacob K. Javits, John V. Tunney, Warren G. Magnuson, Edward S. Muskie, Harrison A. Williams, Alan Cranston, John O. Pastore, Henry M. Jackson, Walter F. Mondale, Edward W. Brooke, Edward M. Kennedy, Robert T. Stafford, Hubert H. Humphrey, William D. Hathaway, Philip A. Hart, Claiborne Pell, Hugh Scott, Clifford P. Case, Mark O. Hatfield, and Richard S. Schweiker.