Modernizing Unemployment System Will Help More Nevada Families

Extra Stimulus Funds Would Expand Assistance for Nevadans at Time of Rising Joblessness

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today (March 20, 2009) pointed to rising jobless figures for the Silver State as more evidence of the need for Nevada to maximize the resources it provides to help out-of-work families in the Valley and statewide by modernizing its unemployment system.  New figures show the percentage of unemployed Nevada residents rose to 10.1% last month.

 “Modernizing Nevada’s unemployment system will enable our State to qualify for additional federal funding that we can use to help thousands more unemployed workers in Las Vegas and other communities.  These are our friends and neighbors who are hurting, and by bringing Nevada’s unemployment system into the 21^st Century, we can help make sure they have food to eat and enough money to pay the rent.  They need our help today and we should do what it takes now to enable these men and women to qualify for unemployment assistance,” said Berkley.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Berkley successfully fought to provide an additional $100 per month to those already covered by unemployment to help with important living expenses.  The package also extended benefit eligibility for 40,000 displaced workers.

 “Thanks to the law we passed, 195,000 Nevadans are now seeing an extra $100 per month included in their unemployment benefit checks.  And 40,000 unemployed workers who would have exhausted their eligibility for coverage are continuing to receive weekly payments because of the extension we added to this legislation,” Berkley said.  “But until we modernize our unemployment system, Nevada will not be able to tap extra funding to help thousands of part-time workers and others who are not eligible today.”

The majority of unemployment provisions included in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act do not require any funding on the part of Nevada.  However, Nevada can qualify for millions in additional funding by modernizing the State’s unemployment system.  Updating the system will increase fairness, especially for women in the workforce, and expand eligibility to include part-time employees.

FEDERALLY FUNDED UNEMPLOYMENT EXTENSION PROVISIONS

·                     Increases Weekly Unemployment Compensation for 195,000 Nevadans – Extra $100 per Month: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act temporarily increases unemployment compensation by $25 a week, providing nearly $1,000 in additional aid for the remainder of this year.  Nearly 20 million unemployed workers are projected to benefit from this provision.

·                     Extends Unemployment Benefits for 40,000 Jobless Nevadans: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides up to 33 weeks of federally funded unemployment.  Qualified Nevada workers will see their checks continue through December 2009.  In addition, the legislation will temporarily provide 100% federal funding for the permanent-law Extended Benefits (EB) Program, which provides up to another 20 weeks of additional extended benefits in Nevada and other high unemployment states.

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley has cosigned a letter expressing her support for maintaining existing policy when it comes to covering the cost of care for veterans who are injured or disabled in the line of duty.

 “Caring for our veterans is not an option, it’s our duty, and I will work with my colleagues to fully fund the VA budget without looking to those who served to make additional sacrifices.  There is no question we are in a time of tight budgets, but that means we will just have to work a little harder to make sure we are providing the funding needed to deliver top quality care to veterans who were disabled or injured while on activity duty.  This would not be the first time that ideas that have surfaced in budget talks were immediately shelved as being unworkable and that is what I believe should happen with this issue,” said Berkley.

The letter (below) is in response to concerns raised about the idea of billing private insurance for care provided to veterans for service-connected injuries and disabilities.  Currently, the VA bears the full cost of such treatment and Berkley does not support any change to this requirement.

March 17, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

We write in response to a deeply troubling policy proposal that has been discussed in conjunction with the release of your Administration’s Budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  For weeks now, leaders of Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) have alluded to developing proposals that would require Veterans’ private insurance to be billed for care provided in treatment of service-connected injuries and disabilities.  Currently, the VA bears the full cost of such treatment.

Though private insurance can currently be billed for treatment of non-service connected conditions, expanding this policy to service-related care ignores the mission of the VA: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.”  We cannot compromise on the promise we have made to those who serve our Nation.  To this end, we respectfully oppose any proposal to bill Veterans’ personal insurers for care or treatment of disability or injuries incurred as a result of honorable military service to the United States.

We appreciate that you have made caring for Veterans, their families, and survivors, one of its top priorities.  This is evidenced by your budget, under which VA discretionary resources for the first time ever exceed the amount recommended by the Independent Budget – a set of Budget and program recommendations assembled by the leading VSOs.  That is no small feat.

However, in the desire to cut costs we cannot lay the burden on those Veterans who have already given so much.  Thank you for your consideration of our concerns regarding these issues.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a provision by Congresswoman Shelley Berkley that will provide land for a new campus of the Nevada Cancer Institute (NVCI), a cancer survivors park, and Valley flood control improvements.  A portion of the parcel will also go to the City of Las Vegas.  The provision, which was included in a broad public lands bill, passed on a vote of 285 to 140.  The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.   

 “This provision will provide a home for an additional campus of the Nevada Cancer Institute in the Valley and for a cancer survivor’s park.  The City of Las Vegas will also receive 20 acres to be developed in a way that benefits our community and enhances the Nevada Cancer Institute’s life-saving mission,” said Berkley.  “In addition, this legislation requires that revenue from the development of this parcel be used to pay for more parks and trails in the Las Vegas Valley and to preserve Nevada treasures like Red Rock Canyon and Lake Tahoe.”  

The provision transfers ownership of 24 acres of the full 80-acre parcel -- located at Alta Drive and Hualapai -- from BLM to the NVCI for use as a new campus.  The City of Las Vegas will receive ownership of an adjoining 20 acres of property which will be used for the development of related commercial projects.  The remaining 36 acres of the 80 acre parcel will include a cancer survivors park, a flood control project, and a water pumping facility.  All proceeds from land sales and development would go to the special account set up under the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.