WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), today issued the following statement after Senate passage of legislation to extend federal emergency unemployment compensation. Booker was part of a bipartisan group of 10 senators who co-sponsored the legislation, which reauthorizes unemployment insurance (UI) benefits for five months. The bill will boost the economy and allow for retroactive payments to eligible beneficiaries going back to December 28th. It now moves to the House of Representatives.
For months, Booker has worked to underscore the urgency of extending the program and to highlight the plight of long-term jobless New Jerseyans cut off from modest but vital aid that helped them meet mortgage payments, pay cell phone bills and afford school activities for their children. During the fight to renew UI, Booker crisscrossed New Jersey – from River Edge to Middle Township – to talk directly with people affected by Congress’s inaction: meeting with residents in their homes, in employment centers, in food pantries and at diners. More than 2,000 people contacted his office to share their stories and push for an extension, while 1.8 million people read about the effort to reinstate extended unemployment insurance on Booker’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. Over social media, more than 100,000 people directly engaged in the conversation about the issue with the senator.
“Today, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate joined together to help Americans in need, including nearly140,000 New Jerseyans, who have been without work for months on end and who were cut off from extended unemployment insurance in December,” Booker said. “I want to thank Senate leadership, especially Senator Reed, for working relentlessly to get this legislation across the finish line and deliver for the 2.3 million long-term unemployed in the U.S.
“I also want to thank all the fearless New Jerseyans who shared their stories with me and my office – stories of struggle and of resilience – and who sought to keep a spotlight on this vital issue and encourage us to act. Today’s vote restores a little bit of hope, but much more must be done. The long-term unemployed have already waited too long for Congress to do what it has done every other time the long-term unemployment rate was as high as it is today – vote for emergency unemployment assistance. Now, it is up to House members to listen to the people in need in their states and take up this legislation and pass it.
“Restoring federal unemployment insurance is part of our effort to boost the economy and expand economic opportunity for all. In the coming months, I look forward to building bipartisan support for additional measures that will put more New Jerseyans to work and continue to strengthen our recovery.”
Led by U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Dean Heller (R-NV), the bill passed today was co-sponsored by Booker and U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Rob Portman (R-OH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mark Kirk (R-IL). The proposal is fully paid-for using a combination of offsets that includes extending “pension smoothing” provisions from the 2012 highway bill (MAP-21), which were set to phase out this year, and extending customs user fees through 2024. The bill also includes an additional offset allowing single-employer pension plans to prepay their flat rate premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
Further, the legislation includes a provision modeled on Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) and Jon Tester’s (D-MT) language that ends unemployment insurance payments to any individual whose adjusted gross income in the preceding year was $1 million or more. According to 2010 income tax data, 0.03 percent of filers earned more than $1 million and received some form of UI at either the state or federal level. This provision received unanimous support in the Senate when it was voted on in 2011.
Senator Booker Speaks on the Floor before Final Passage to Extend Federal Unemployment Insurance