Jobless Benefits

When labor and employers find common ground in the struggle over benefits and taxes, it should be cause for rejoicing. But when both sides agree on raiding the piggy-bank of the unemployment insurance trust fund, it's time for alarm.So when the House of Delegates approved cutting in half the payroll surtax, while raising maximum weekly benefits by 19 percent, it was a politically popular but not necessarily a prudent decision. If enacted into law, it would be effective for a year while legislators study changes to the overall unemployment insurance system between sessions.

President Clinton's "jobs summit" -- a Camp David gathering this fall of finance and labor ministers from the Group of Seven advanced industrial countries -- may provide some awkward moments for administration advocates of higher minimum wages, open-ended extension of jobless benefits and increased payroll taxes to pay for health care.All increase the cost of labor and discourage new hiring. On a scale much higher than that found in the United States, they have long been a feature of the European labor scene.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration is planning a shift in approach on jobless benefits that would help the long-term unemployed move from economically depressed regions to locales where job prospects are better.Labor Secretary Robert Reich said yesterday that the recent congressional battle over extending unemployment benefits to people whose regular benefits have lapsed demonstrated that there is little money or political support for additional aid -- much of which goes to people who continue looking for work in their region while waiting for the economy to improve.

2 airlines to coordinate flightsContinental Airlines and Air France are expected to announce today an arrangement to coordinate flights, allowing passengers easier travel between the United States and Europe.Industry executives said yesterday that the agreement would allow airlines to sell seats on each other's flights so that passengers traveling to Europe could, for example, begin on Continental's domestic system and continue overseas on Air France on a single ticket.American Express earnings surgeAmerican Express Co. reported second-quarter net rose 34 percent as earnings surged in its travel-services and securities divisions.

The number of Marylanders filing claims for jobless benefits has fallen yet again, continuing a five-month trend that points to lower unemployment in the state.In the week that ended May 16, there were 55,869 claims for unemployment insurance benefits, 2,800 fewer than in the previous week. Jobless claims have fallen more than 28 percent since a peak of more than 78,000 for the week that ended Jan. 25, which was the highest level in more than a year.In Baltimore, the decline in jobless claims has not been as dramatic as the statewide drop.

WASHINGTON -- Extending an election-year olive branch to Congress, President Bush yesterday endorsed a $2.7 billion compromise measure to extend jobless benefits another 13 weeks for the long-term unemployed.The House Ways and Means Committee swiftly adopted the bill without opposition.In contrast to monthslong battles over unemployment benefits last year, the new bill was expected to sail through the House and Senate next week and be rushed to the president's desk for his signature as the first recession-relief measure of 1992.

WASHINGTON -- Acting with near-unanimity on the first recession-relief measure of the year, Congress yesterday approved and sent to President Bush a $2.7 billion unemployment bill that would extend long-term jobless benefits for another 13 weeks.President Bush, who twice blocked similar attempts last year before signing a compromise bill, asked for the legislation during his State of the Union address only a week ago. He is expected to sign it.Bipartisan support and the lagging economy combined to speed the measure through the House by a 404-8 vote.

WASHINGTON -- Brushing aside a veto threat by President Bush, the Senate approved a $5.4 billion bill yesterday to continue emergency extension of jobless benefits through next March for workers who exhaust their basic 26-week unemployment payments.The action, taken by voice vote, clears the way for a Senate-House conference to work out compromise legislation that Congress is expected to adopt before the current program of extra benefits expires July 4.The House version would provide up to 26 additional weeks of benefits and also would change the law to make it easier for workers to get extended benefits in the future when unemployment is high.

WASHINGTON -- Congressional Democrats, who battled President Bush for months last year over extra jobless benefits, said yesterday that they expect White House cooperation now as they rush through a new bill to provide another 13 weeks of payments to unemployed Americans.Barring unexpected delays, the measure could be signed into law by Mr. Bush in mid-February, just days before the first presidential primary in New Hampshire at the start of the 1992 campaign. The legislation would expire Oct. 3, a month before the Nov. 3 election.

WASHINGTON -- Extending an election-year olive branch to Congress, President Bush yesterday endorsed a $2.7 billion compromise measure to extend jobless benefits another 13 weeks for the long-term unemployed.The House Ways and Means Committee swiftly adopted the bill without opposition.In contrast to monthslong battles over unemployment benefits last year, the new bill was expected to sail through the House and Senate next week and be rushed to the president's desk for his signature as the first recession-relief measure of 1992.

WASHINGTON - Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress raced to approve legislation yesterday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for 1 million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits are running out. The economic picture was only getting worse, if Wall Street was any indication. The Dow Jones industrials dropped more than 400 points for a second straight day, reaching the lowest level in more than five years, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell below lows established six years ago as it lost almost 7 percent.

Numbers--The Labor Department said 302,000 people filed for jobless benefits last week, down 35,000 from the previous week.

Numbers-- The Labor Department reported that 294,000 Americans filed for jobless benefits last week, up by 15,000 from the previous week.

I was laid off in April 2002 after 29 years with a major telephone company. I collected unemployment benefits for 10 months. The next year, I again applied for unemployment benefits because I wasn't able to find a job. I filled out a form stating that I hadn't worked or earned a salary since filling out my initial claim form. The unemployment benefits office checked with my former employer and granted me another 10 months of benefits - or so I thought. The unemployment office now tells me that I need to pay back the second round of benefits.

WASHINGTON - Acting swiftly, President Bush signed a bill yesterday to extend federal unemployment aid for up to 2.5 million Americans through May, after the new Republican Congress whisked the measure through during its first week. Yesterday's action was the first achievement of the 108th Congress, and Republicans hailed it as one that would help smooth the road for Bush's new $674 billion tax-cut package. But Democrats argued that the jobless measure did not go far enough and that it reflected the misplaced priorities of the Republicans' economic plans.

PRESIDENT BUSH is inescapably haunted by the presidency of his father. By far the most frightening specter is that of the bum economy, and George H.W. Bush's presumed indifference to it, which are believed to have cost him the White House. Thus, George W. Bush is moving swiftly to present the newly elected Congress with a package of proposals designed to jump-start his own weak economy well before the 2004 election season gets into full swing. At the top of his agenda Mr. Bush has wisely put an extension of jobless benefits - urging immediate action next week.

WASHINGTON - About 780,000 jobless Americans will lose their unemployment benefits at midnight, and a prolonged dispute between Republicans and Democrats could keep them and thousands more workers cut off from further aid for weeks. Those affected, including roughly 10,000 Marylanders, are caught in the middle of a partisan debate about how generous the government should be in providing additional benefits. Having failed to reach agreement before adjourning for the year, Congress is expected to act soon after it returns Jan. 7. Democrats are calling for 13 more weeks of federal jobless aid, while Republicans have proposed shorter extensions targeted to states with higher unemployment rates.

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted unanimously yesterday to approve a 13-week extension of benefits for unemployed workers - the only step that Democrats and Republicans could agree on to help Americans hurt by the recession. The House is also expected soon to back the measure, which would provide additional benefits to about 2 million jobless people over the next year - including 18,000 Marylanders - who exhaust the regular 26 weeks of payments that most states offer. The aid would be extended retroactively to those whose regular unemployment benefits ran out beginning the week of the Sept.

When labor and employers find common ground in the struggle over benefits and taxes, it should be cause for rejoicing. But when both sides agree on raiding the piggy-bank of the unemployment insurance trust fund, it's time for alarm.So when the House of Delegates approved cutting in half the payroll surtax, while raising maximum weekly benefits by 19 percent, it was a politically popular but not necessarily a prudent decision. If enacted into law, it would be effective for a year while legislators study changes to the overall unemployment insurance system between sessions.

WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration is planning a shift in approach on jobless benefits that would help the long-term unemployed move from economically depressed regions to locales where job prospects are better.Labor Secretary Robert Reich said yesterday that the recent congressional battle over extending unemployment benefits to people whose regular benefits have lapsed demonstrated that there is little money or political support for additional aid -- much of which goes to people who continue looking for work in their region while waiting for the economy to improve.