State Representatives Say Unemployment Extension Great, Not Agree on How It Happened

Some 40,000 Wisconsin workers who are unemployed are now eligible to receive an additional 13 weeks of federal unemployment.

Governor Scott Walker signed the bill into law on Aug. 3.

“Racine has historically ranked first or second in unemployment, so my constituents know how difficult it can be to find work,” said Wanggaard in a written statement. “People are out there actively looking for employment and learning new skills to re-enter the workforce. This legislation provides a 13-week lifeline to help these people get back on their feet.”

Senate Bill 147 was authored by State Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and follows the recommendation by the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council. The issue hit the Senate floor on July 25 and after Senate Democrats added an amendment removing the one-week waiting period, a bi-partisan vote passed it on the Assembly.

There the bill stalled because Assembly Republicans removed the amendment before voting to approve the extension. Another Senate vote was scheduled for Aug. 1, when the bill passed on a 19-14 vote.

SB 147 changes the "trigger" for eligibility, meaning that instead of using data from the past two years, Wisconsin can use unemployment numbers from the past three years, making 40,000 workers whose checks have run out eligible for the extension. There will still be a one-week waiting period, and according to Wanggaard, that begins on Jan 1, 2012.

"The week allows the Department of Workforce Development to evaluate eligibility," Wanggaard said in an interview with Patch earlier this week.

Because he said the waiting period doesn't go into affect until the first of the year, workers who continued to file will get a check immediately while those who were not should start immediately to expedite their benefits, he added.

But Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine) said state Republicans shouldn't be so quick to pat themselves on the back since the one-week waiting period could put more families at risk.

"It’s great that Republicans have finally seen fit to respond to Democratic efforts to accept federal money for our state’s unemployed workers. But Republicans continue their attack on the middle class by denying tens of thousands of workers unemployment benefits when they may need it most: in the first week of unemployment," he said in an email to Patch. "Republicans shouldn’t hurt their arms patting themselves on the backs about accepting federal dollars for displaced workers, money that other states accepted without hesitancy or political games months ago.”