December 19, 2003
December 19, 2003
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today urged President Bush to take immediate action to prevent the termination of federal unemployment benefits for approximately 90,000 Michigan citizens. Four separate federal programs that offer unemployment benefits beyond the basic 26-week state program will end on December 27.
In a letter to the President sent today, Granholm urged Bush to work with Congress as soon it returns in January to extend the federal safety-net called the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC).
"Unfortunately, this holiday season the grinch is taking the form of expired benefits for thousands of families across Michigan and the United States," said Granholm. "While all of us continue to focus on strengthening the economy and creating new jobs, Congress and the White House must act together now to help strengthen these families in their time of need, as well."
Granholm called the extension of the benefits "both compassionate policy and sound economic policy for our state and our nation." She added that the various extensions have meant more than $560 million to Michigan’s unemployed and the state’s economy.
"While our workers continue to look for employment in a job market that has been slow in recovering," wrote Granholm, "TEUC has allowed those citizens to pay for rent or mortgages, health care and prescription drugs…"
Without an extension, unemployed workers who exhaust their current state benefits the week ending December 27 will no longer be eligible for the federal extended benefit programs. The four federal unemployment benefit programs ending on December 27 are:
•Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) – provides up to 13 weeks of benefits to those who exhaust the state program;
•TEUC-X – a second tier of federal benefits paid to those who exhaust their TEUC;
•TEUC-A – provides up to 39 weeks of federal jobless benefits to workers in the airline and related industries who exhaust their state benefits;
•TEUC-AX – provides up to 13 weeks to those who exhaust their TEUC-A.
A temporary change proposed and signed into Michigan law by Granholm earlier this year allowed for the payment of up to 26 weeks and more than $206 million in additional jobless benefits to the state’s unemployed workers this year. The benefits are payable through the TEUC-X and Extended Benefits (EB) programs.
