A bipartisan group of state senators and Gov. Chris Gregoire want to be sure Washington doesn’t get punished for paying its unemployment insurance benefits without help from the federal government.
Today, 30 states and the Virgin Islands owe $42.6 billion to the U.S. government for loans obtained when each ran out of money in their unemployment insurance trust funds.
The amounts range from $14.7 million for Hawaii to $9.9 billion for California, according to a chart compiled by the Employment Security Department. (see attached) A total of 11 states owe in excess of $1 billion.
Now, the federal government is thinking of providing further help to all of them. Some of the ideas getting floated around include making those loans interest-free or allowing states to not make some payments.
That doesn’t sit well in Washington where the trust fund is so healthy the Legislature and governor agreed to cancel a planned increase in taxes on employers and temporarily boost benefits for newly unemployed.
This morning a state Senate committee discussed a measure requesting the U.S. Department of Labor treat this state and its UI tax paying employers the same way it treats those taxpayers in states receiving federal financial aid.
Gregoire said she’ll be raising the point with federal leaders in a trip to Washington, D.C. later this week.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
