More help for unemployed Virginians
Virginia's unemployment rate is 7.1 percent. Some areas of Virginia have twice this rate, with Martinsville topping the list with more than 20 percent. These cold numbers translate into nearly 300,000 Virginians and their families who are in desperate need of help from their elected officials. Yet the U.S. Senate and Virginia state officials seem disconnected from families hardest hit by the worst economic situation since the Great Depression.</br></br>The Senate in June failed to extend long-term unemployment benefits and has continued to dither, a delay highlighted by The Post's July 13 editorial "Jobless benefits, now." And Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and members of the General Assembly also have failed to help, by allowing $125.5 million in federal aid to languish.</br></br>Virginia's elected leaders still have an opportunity to assist unemployed Virginians, but they will have to be willing to reconsider prior decisions of the Virginia General Assembly.</br></br>The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized $7 billion to the states for their unemployment insurance programs. As a condition of receiving Virginia's full share, which is an additional $125.5 million not yet received, the state would be required to amend its eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits to include two of these four categories: (1) people seeking part-time work; (2) people who are in a state-approved training program who have lost their jobs in a declining industry; (3) people who became unemployed because of a compelling family reason, such as caring for a sick or disabled family member; or the state can (4) offer eligible claimants with dependents a stipend of at least $15 per week for each dependent.</br></br>In both the 2009 and 2010 sessions of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislature failed to pass legislation expanding the eligibility criteria, thus preventing Virginia from collecting this $125.5 million in economic stimulus funds. Virginia must apply for these funds no later than Aug. 22, 2011.