Pa. House votes to extend unemployment benefits
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HARRISBURG -- The state House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted today to send a bill to extend unemployment compensation benefits for Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's signature.
That measure, approved without floor debate on a vote of 185-10, will provide 13 additional weeks of federally funded benefits to the state's eligible jobless residents.
A Corbett administration spokesman said the governor plans to sign the measure promptly.
Approximately 17,000 residents otherwise would not have been eligible for benefits for any weeks they were unemployed after Feb. 5.
Federal funding for the additional benefit checks was approved by Congress in December but required the state to tweak its unemployment compensation rules in order to receive that money.
Some Republican lawmakers and business groups sought to make various reforms to the state's unemployment compensation system and its current $3 billion debt to the federal government as part of the bill. Others pushed for a quick vote in order to provide the financial assistance to unemployed workers.
First Published February 8, 2012 2:39 pm
