By: Sarah Shemkus
sshemkus@capecodonline.com
July 21, 2010
Cape Cod Times

Many of the Cape and Islands' unemployed residents — which numbered more than 11,000 last month — received some good news yesterday when the Senate voted to move ahead on a bill to extend benefits for the long-term unemployed.

"I don't understand how anyone could have denied them the extension up to now," said David Augustinho, executive director of the Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board. On the Cape and Islands last month, 7.5 percent of the work force — some 11,445 people — were without jobs, according to numbers released yesterday by the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
In June 2009, there were 10,468 out-of-work locals, for an unemployment rate of 6.8 percent.

"The jobs just aren't there and people have been in real difficulty," Augustinho said.

And for a significant portion of the jobless, those difficulties have been compounded by the expiration of unemployment benefits in early June, after Senate Republicans blocked a measure that would have extended emergency unemployment compensation.

Between June 5 and June 26, 893 Cape and Islands residents stopped receiving payments, according to Rena Kottcamp, labor market information director for the state Department of Workforce Development. And because that number doesn't include late June or July, "there's probably more than that," she said.

Yesterday, however, Carte Goodwin, D-W.Va., was sworn in as senator, succeeding the late Sen. Robert Byrd. With Goodwin onboard, Senate Democrats were able to overcome a Republican filibuster and move the unemployment extension bill forward.

The bill would not allow the jobless to receive benefits for longer than the current maximum of 99 weeks. Instead, it would extend the current system of compensation until Nov. 30.

The extension would be retroactive: Those who are still eligible for additional benefits will receive compensation for any weeks they missed between the beginning of June and the passage of the bill.
Yesterday's 60-40 Senate vote all but assures the bill will pass when a final vote is taken today.

The measure would then go to the House, where leaders expect to quickly approve it and send it to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature later this week.

Joining the Democrats in voting to break the impasse were two Republic senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., voted against advancing the legislation.
Republicans who opposed the measure cited the $34 billion it could add to the deficit, and the fear that continuing unemployment benefits could prevent some from looking for work.

Those involved in employment services on the Cape and Islands disagreed with that logic yesterday.

"I don't see that the private sector has really stepped up and created a lot of new job opportunities," said Al Roy, director of the Career Opportunities center in Hyannis. "I believe that the vast majority of people want to work and want to make a sustainable living."

Furthermore, unemployment benefits put more money in the local economy, Augustinho said. "There's some real positives from people collecting unemployment," he said. "It gives them money to spend."
Candidates in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race also jumped into the unemployment debate yesterday.

In a conference call with reporters, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray chastised Republican candidate for governor Charles Baker for not supporting the extension.

"There are people behind these numbers who are looking for government to do what it can in this time of hardship," Murray said. "This extension is a bridge for so many people and their families."

Murray also spoke out against a proposal by Baker to require would-be claimants to work for 20 weeks rather than 15 before they are eligible for benefits.

Baker campaign spokesman Rick Gorka responded that the Republican gubernatorial candidate agrees with Brown's position; Brown has said he is not against the extension but that Congress must find a way to pay for it rather than adding to the deficit.

And, he said, the proposed changes to unemployment eligibility are a necessary part of an overall plan to make Massachusetts' business environment more competitive. "It would bring Massachusetts in line with the vast majority of the country," Gorka said. "It's part of a big-picture plan to get Massachusetts back to work."

Murray, however, maintains that the state can become more competitive without the proposed change.