WASHINGTON, DC -- With more and more Rhode Islanders out of work and looking for jobs, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today introduced legislation he authored to extend Unemployment Insurance (UI) for workers who have exhausted benefits in states like Rhode Island that have been hit hardest by the economic downturn. Reed's Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 (S.1699) provides an additional 13 weeks of joblessness benefits in states with unemployment rates at or above 8.5 percent. This is companion legislation to a bill the U.S. House of Representatives passed yesterday by a bipartisan vote of 331-83.

More than 2,400 Rhode Islanders will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of the month, and another 4,500 are estimated to run out of coverage by the end of the year.

"This bill will provide basic support to jobless Americans who were laid off through no fault of their own and are struggling to find work in extraordinarily weak labor market," said Reed, who sent a letter to Senate Leadership today urging for swift passage of this legislation. "In addition to providing more weeks of unemployment insurance benefits, it is vital to continue unemployment compensation programs in law through at least 2010 to ensure benefits are available to workers more recently unemployed. It is also important to consider proposals that would help to stem job loss. Looking forward, we need to create a path of growth that creates jobs as consumer spending returns and production increases. The Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle know how important it is to get this done, and I'm working with them to move this effort forward."

Reed's legislation builds on two other bills he authored and introduced in August to extend unemployment compensation programs through 2010, and help preserve jobs and prevent future lay-offs:

The Assistance for Unemployed Workers Extension Act (S. 1647) would extend several current-law unemployment compensation programs through 2010. It also provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance for workers who have exhausted benefits in states with unemployment rates at or above 8.5 percent.

The Keep Americans Working Act (S.1646) establishes a temporary work-share program that allows employers to reduce the hours of their workers for some period of time and for the workers to receive proportionate unemployment benefits for those reduced hours to lessen the impact on them and their families. While 17 states are using their resources to provide work share, these programs remain largely underutilized.