Statement By Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, on the House Supplemental Funding Bill

Publication Date: May 2008

Publisher: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington, D.C.)

Author(s): Rupert Greenstein

Research Area: Labor

Keywords: Economic projections; Unemployment rate; Recession; Federal budget

Type: Report

Abstract:

The House supplemental funding bill makes important changes to domestic policy by temporarily extending unemployment benefits and imposing a moratorium on harmful Medicaid regulations.

The unemployment measure would provide, on a temporary basis, an extra 13 weeks of jobless benefits to workers who exhaust their benefits without finding work. These extended benefits would not only help jobless workers meet basic needs such as food and rent while looking for work during a period when the economy is languishing, but would also help cushion the downturn’s impact on the overall economy by bolstering consumer demand.