WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the support of U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), the United States Senate voted today to approve a five-month extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program. The program, which lapsed at the end of last year, provides essential support to those who have been unemployed for more than six months, enabling them to stay in the labor force as they continue their search for job opportunities.

“Emergency unemployment benefits are a lifeline for millions of long-term unemployed Americans, including over eight thousand in Maine who are struggling to find work. Not only do these benefits often make the difference between putting food on the table or not, but they also go a long way towards supporting local economies,” Senator King said. “The Senate’s renewal of the program marks a significant victory in providing much-needed relief to hard-pressed Mainers, and I hope the House of Representatives will act on our bipartisan work to do the same.”

The legislation passed today by the Senate will strengthen the U.S. economy while providing vulnerable job-seekers and their families with a vital lifeline as they continue to look for work. The plan will allow for retroactive payments to eligible beneficiaries going back to December 28th.

According to the National Employment Law Project, 3,300 hundred Mainers lost unemployment benefits when EUC expired at the end of December and more than 4,700 have been denied federal benefits after their state program benefits were exhausted, resulting in approximately $14.2 million in benefits lost through April 5th.

The proposal is fully paid-for using a combination of offsets that includes extending “pension smoothing” provisions from the 2012 highway bill, which were set to phase out this year, and extending customs user fees through 2024. The bill also includes an additional offset allowing single-employer pension plans to prepay their flat rate premiums to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

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