AWI, DCF(Welfare) and U.S. Dept. of Labor

I am a 99er/58 weeks total (EB and Tier 4 exhausted) and I will be last person to say we should stop trying to get an expansion (additional weeks above and beyond 99 weeks) of EUC and/or Fed-State EB benefits. I will continue to fight for an expansion of EUC/EB benefits.

But this is how Washington and the States are secretly planning to handle us.

H.R.4849.RFS - This is what the House of Representatives has decided to do for 99ers.
TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) with respect to 'subsidized employment', will be opened to individuals whether they have children or not.
See H.R.4849.RFS,- TITLE IV, SEC. 401., (a) (4) (B)
`(iv) LIMITATION ON EXPENDITURES FOR SUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT- An expenditure for subsidized employment shall be taken into account under clause (ii) only if the expenditure is used to subsidize employment for--
`(I) a member of a needy family (without regard to whether the family is receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part); or
`(II) an individual who has exhausted (or, within 60 days, will exhaust) all rights to receive unemployment compensation under Federal and State law, and who is a member of a needy household (regardless of whether the household includes a child).';

Link to Text of Legislation, then H.R.4849.RFS :
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.04849:
Passed the House of Representatives March 24, 2010.
3/26/2010 - Referred to Senate committee: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Read this article for some insight on how little this will help us. Barely a bone is being tossed to us. Don't expect to pay your bills with it. Don't expect to be able to salvage any valuable assets. YOU ARE THE NEW POOR. Make no mistake about it.
" TANF May be an Alternative for Unemployed 99ers’ "
http://tinyurl.com/3yn7cg2

ALL States have been invited to participate. Here are the links to Florida's Public Notice and it's response to U.S. Dept. of Labor's invitation to participate.

Public Comment Requested
http://www.floridajobs.org/

2009-10 WIA State Plan Modification.
http://www.floridajobs.org/about%20awi/wia_stateplan.html

By the way, we'll all starve to death or be homeless before any of this even gets enacted into law.

You mean I've been crawling around in this perpetual tunnel for months on my hands and knees, and you're the ray of sunshine?

Hey UIF, you only received 58 weeks? Are you positive you got EB?

studioWI wrote:You mean I've been crawling around in this perpetual tunnel for months on my hands and knees, and you're the ray of sunshine?

I never claimed to be a ray of sunshine. Just reporting the facts. You know as well as I that there has been no official word out of Washington regarding an expansion of EUC or EB benefits. Just a lot of he said, she said from hopeful bloggers and posters.
I don't want to discourage any one from fighting. If it gets done, it will be because we refused to stop trying.

It is my hope that people will use any and all information I post and use it to tell Washington and the media that this just won't do. It's just too little, too late - again. If I can show fellow members what little is in store for us then I can only hope we decide to take the appropriate action.

Jeff wrote:Hey UIF, you only received 58 weeks? Are you positive you got EB?

Jeff, as you know EUC and EB benefits are based on your original State UIC claim. My State UIC claim was $200/wk with $2401 Available Credits. The claim lasted about 15 weeks, not 26. Accordingly, all my EUC Tiers and EB benefits were reduced to just over half of the advertised amount.

The reason for the reduced benefits were because I accepted a Temp job making $8/hr which lasted 8 months.
Otherwise I would have received the full EUC and EB benefits.

UnemployedInFL wrote:

Jeff wrote:Hey UIF, you only received 58 weeks? Are you positive you got EB?

Jeff, as you know EUC and EB benefits are based on your original State UIC claim. My State UIC claim was $200/wk with $2401 Available Credits. The claim lasted about 15 weeks, not 26. Accordingly, all my EUC Tiers and EB benefits were reduced to just over half of the advertised amount.

The reason for the reduced benefits were because I accepted a Temp job making $8/hr which lasted 8 months.
Otherwise I would have received the full EUC and EB benefits.

Oh no! I thought I had it bad. Similar to yours (took part time job) but not nearly as cutting. Really sorry to hear that man. It burns me to hear them say or leave people with the notion that we're all getting 320 or better per week for 99 weeks.

UnemployedInFL wrote:

studioWI wrote:You mean I've been crawling around in this perpetual tunnel for months on my hands and knees, and you're the ray of sunshine?

I never claimed to be a ray of sunshine. Just reporting the facts. You know as well as I that there has been no official word out of Washington regarding an expansion of EUC or EB benefits. Just a lot of he said, she said from hopeful bloggers and posters.
I don't want to discourage any one from fighting. If it gets done, it will be because we refused to stop trying.

It is my hope that people will use any and all information I post and use it to tell Washington and the media that this just won't do. It's just too little, too late - again. If I can show fellow members what little is in store for us then I can only hope we decide to take the appropriate action.

There really is a reason the is included.

As far as appropriate action..........

What type of "appropriate action"?,- is the question.

Don't answer. They're watching us.

A lot of folks didn't get 99 weeks like the media is reporting. It gets me mad when they keep saying "99 weeks". Many of us only started with 20 weeks or less when we first got on unemployment and had EB taken from us the minute Tier 3 was approved. Tier 3 BTW was shorter than EB. That aside, I think the way the government and media handle the unemployed is atrocious. Just the other day, I saw some financial idiot on GMA telling people who are unemployed to save for their retirement. What part of "Unemployed" did the moron not understand? The unemployed are fighting to eat and have a roof over their heads and the media and government are totally ignoring them.

I don't know what real action we can take. I've written to congress, local officials and the president. I've joined fax day and twittered about it. (OK, twittering might have been lame, but it;s something). I talk about it so the unemployed don't get forgotten. I know many people including myself who wish we could start the government over again, but how? They have all the power. I think the most important thing I have learned in the last 2 years is that our country is totally about the banks. "Of the Banks, for the Banks, and by the Banks". It's like us little people never counted and it took me 47 years to finally realize this.

There has to be a real way for us to fight back, without violence, but something. I don't know, perhaps someone can come up with a real plan. OK--ranting over for today......