Schumer Says Senate Will Boost Jobless Aid in Stimulus Measure [View All]

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Source: Bloomberg

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate will change the economic stimulus plan agreed to by the House and the Bush administration and likely increase unemployment benefits, Senator Charles Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said.

More spending on unemployment benefits and food stamps will generate ``more bang for the buck,'' said Schumer, a New Yorker who is the Senate's No. 3 Democrat. The package of provisions designed to boost economic growth was announced yesterday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

``The economists tell us that the No. 1 thing to get money into the economy fast is extending unemployment benefits and maybe increasing them by a little bit temporarily,'' Schumer said in an in interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt,'' scheduled to air today. ``It's something we'd like to see added in.''

Schumer is among the senators looking to make changes to a bipartisan deal that the House and the Bush administration worked out this week to help the U.S. avoid recession. Under that agreement, the Internal Revenue Service will distribute tax- rebate checks to 117 million families earning at least $3,000, give businesses incentives to invest in equipment and allow federally chartered mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy mortgages of up to $729,750.



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