Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 5, 1992 TAG: 9202050077
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
CONGRESS OKS ADDED BENEFITS
Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for a new 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, its first salvo of the year aimed at boosting the sagging economy.President Bush planned to sign the bill quickly. But separately, the battle over curing the recession flared anew as the president's top economic advisers warned Democrats against their plans for a broad tax cut financed by higher taxes on the wealthy.
The House approved the $2.7 billion expansion of jobless coverage 404-8. Senate passage came shortly afterward on a 94-2 vote.
The avalanche of support came with members of both parties convinced the public would not tolerate a replay of last year's four-month partisan battle over new benefits.
They also were aware that there could be no more embarrassing way to begin the election year than by ignoring the 600,000 jobless Americans who are expected to deplete their benefits in the last two weeks of February.
"In talking to citizens on the Northwest side of Chicago, there is no higher priority, no larger concern than job security," said Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., a sponsor of the measure.
"Politics should be set aside in the best interests of the country," said House Minority Leader Robert Michel, R-Ill.
In the Senate, acknowledgement of the need for the extra benefits also crossed party lines.
"The unemployed need it; the state of the economy demands it," said Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas.
"We're not much better off than we were six months ago," Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., said during the Senate's debate. "This is the only thing to do."
Bush rejected two benefit-extension bills last year, arguing that the economy was still strong. He finally signed a third measure after his popularity in public opinion polls plummeted and after Democrats agreed to pay for the benefits by speeding up some tax collections.
This year, with a 7.1 percent jobless rate as the backdrop to the start of Bush's re-election campaign, the administration quickly worked out financing differences it had with Democrats and joined their effort to expand the benefits again.
Jobless people are entitled to 26 weeks of regular benefits, plus an additional 13 or 20 weeks of coverage, depending on a state's unemployment rate.
The extra 13 weeks approved Tuesday would be on top of that coverage.
Eventually, 2 million unemployed people are expected to sign up for the new coverage, Democrats said. The new benefit program would expire July 4.
The legislation would largely be paid for by a $2.2 billion surplus the White House said it has discovered. The remaining $500 million would come from forcing large corporations to make larger advance payments of some of their taxes.