Can COBRA Please Be Extended For Way More Than 15 Days?

As the "Jobs for Main Street Act" possibly gets a final vote tomorrow, lost in the discussion of the bill has been the absence of a needed extension for unemployment benefits.

Now Harry Reid has already pledged an extension for COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation ACT for those who wanted the know the technical meaning of COBRA like me). That piece of news seems like "problem solved, right?"

Well, that's until you see that the Senate Majority Leader has pledged the extension for only 15 days.

To say Reid's move is "beyond baffling" is being polite. And it's getting the deserved criticism that it merits:

"Unemployment offices are really really going to have a huge problem," said Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the NELP. "They can't handle this two-weeks-at-a-time stuff. It keeps them in a constant state of flux. This is going to create more work for them when they can least afford it."

Rich Hobbie, director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, agreed.

"They definitely prefer a significantly longer extension to help them avoid this on-again, off-again extension, so it's a bit disappointing," Hobbie said. He added that the 15 day extension could be problematic because unemployment insurance is a weekly program, and state agencies might be confused by that extra 15th day. "We'd much prefer a six-month extension."

Continuing in the sentiment of Reid's move being a true sheer moment of stupidity:

The progressive Economic Policy Institute's Ross Eisenbrey reminded Sen. Reid in a statement that the unemployment rate is in the double-digit range in most parts of the country.

"Given this grim reality, Senator Reid's announcement that the Senate will debate a 15-day extension of unemployment benefits was disheartening," said Eisenbrey. "The extended benefits program will be needed for another year at least, so a 15-day extension makes no sense. The American people may not be familiar with the arcane rules that are grinding the Senate to a halt, but they are all too familiar with the hardships that this recession has imposed on their families, friends, and neighbors. Senators have got to find a way to move forward to provide help to Americans who are out of work, starting with a 12-month extension of unemployment benefits.

"Waiting until the last minute to vote on an extension has already cost the states millions of dollars and forced them to send cut-off notices to workers receiving unemployment checks. Extending the program for only 15 days will force the states to twist themselves into knots to re-start the program while simultaneously preparing to shut it down again. This is waste and abuse."

Maybe more abusive is the fact, as David Dayen has brought to my attention, how Reid is planning to bring back the tax extenders that Republicans (and Max Baucus) were angry he took out of the current Jobs Bill back as part of a package with the 15 day extension of unemployment benefits.

What is so funny (and sad) about that is the fact that placing the tax extenders amendment with COBRA extension probably is the only way any Republican would vote for.......extending unemployment insurance to the jobless.

Gee, I'm not a big bad talking head strategist and all, but, you know, wouldn't that be a perfect label to further paint how Republicans don't care at all for the downtrodden in this nation?

You might as well potentially win the Midterms right there and then without all the hassle by daring Republicans to vote against that?

Instead to no one's surprise, Reid may willingly play the corporate bipartisan helper here yet again. But it isn't even a meaningful year or 6 month extension of CORBA. It's for 15 days.

Not only that, but for anyone needing a reminder or additional talking point on why it is great to facilitate fellow Americans in their period of not having a steady consistent job (like myself), the evidence is clear: unemployment benefits provide additional stimulus to the economy.

Besides the lifeline that the benefits provide for unemployed workers, advocates point to their stimulative effect on the economy. “The Congressional Budget Office estimates that UI benefits generate up to $1.90 in GDP per every dollar spent, making the UI provisions the most cost-effective policy for stimulus efforts in 2010,” NELP writes. “According to the Economic Policy Institute, extending the ARRA’s provisions for the duration of 2010 would generate an additional 800,000 needed jobs, since safety net spending results in greater disposable income for recipients to use on goods and services.” NELP estimates that without long-term congressional action, 5 million Americans will run out of unemployment insurance benefits by June.

However, with the conversation about the stimulus leading most to believe it was a disaster, maybe that's a reason why this isn't getting the proper discussion it requires.

Hopefully some Democratic Senator will recognize the importance of continuing to provide a critical hand to someone who still can't find a job in the midst of the bills, loans, or other things individuals have to pay for.

Because it sure would look and sound a whole lot better than "we have got to extend this tax extenders" to big corporate businesses like Baucus loves to do.