Assistant Secretary of Labor Phyllis Borzi told BusinessWeek Wednesday she hopes to see the COBRA subsidy program extended through the end of this year.
U.S. workers who involuntarily lose their jobs before April 1 can claim the 65 percent subsidy and receive it for up to 15 months. Congress has extended the subsidy twice since December.
"This stop and go thing," Borzi told BusinessWeek,"is what kills employers." It's like the scene in old movies where the "lady is tied to the railroad tracks. That's why it would be much simpler for employers to administer the subsidy if the next subsidy extension were adopted before the prior extension expired."
House members have already approved legislation, extending the filing deadline through April 30.
Senate members, who have had to first tackle H.R. 4872 - The Reconciliation Act - after President Obama signed a massive health bill into law, are moving onto the possibility of another 30-day extension of eligibility for unemployment insurance and COBRA premium reductions.
But according to POLITICO, Senate Republicans are willing to battle Democrats who are pushing for the extension without finding a way to pay for it.
Last time an extension was brought up in the Senate, it was faced with fierce opposition from Sen. Jim Bunning, R.-Ky. Bunning was defeated and the measure passed.
"Leading the charge this time around will likely be Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who has built up far more goodwill with the leadership than has Bunning, the 78-year-old former Major League Baseball pitcher who has a testy relationship with his home-state counterpart, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell," writes Manu Raju for POLITICO.
"Coburn said it's 'highly doubtful' he'd let Democrats quickly pass an extension this week to keep benefits going until May 5 - if the $10 billion isn't offset with spending cuts."
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