More than 23,500 Virginians’ unemployment benefits will lapse after Congress failed to pass emergency legislation before the Senate recessed for the July 4 holiday.
The Virginia Employment Commission estimates that 23,500 people statewide will exhaust their benefits and become ineligible to advance to another tier of extended benefits, according to spokeswoman Joyce Fogg.
“(Recipients of unemployment benefits) will continue to receive the benefits that they’re eligible for within their tier,” Fogg said, “but once they exhaust those benefits, they won’t move on to another tier. That’s where we are until Congress does something.”
The House of Representatives passed a bill 270-153 Thursday to restore emergency unemployment benefits — the same bill that failed earlier this week under a different voting procedure requiring a two-thirds majority. But because the Senate has already recessed for the July 4 holiday, no major action will occur before the last phase of federal emergency benefits end Sunday.
Regular unemployment payments last for 26 weeks, although there are other tiers for extensions. The bill would retroactively fund lapsed benefits as early as the end of May.
Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th District, blasted the Senate last week and this week for its inaction on the issue.
“(Perriello) is disappointed that Congress did not finish the job before leaving for recess,” Jessica Barba, his press secretary, said in an e-mail. “The bill does retroactively fund the benefits to the date when they expired, but if you need to make a rent payment now or buy groceries for the week, that doesn’t help you a whole lot.”
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