JOBLESS BENEFIT REVISION URGED

While debate rages in Washington over whether to extend unemployment benefits, there was no debate Monday at the state unemployment office in Cape Girardeau, where two unemployed women said they favor such an extension.

For a 52-year-old, laid-off factory worker from Cape Girardeau whose jobless benefits are about to run out, federal legislation to extend unemployment benefits is welcome.

"I think it would be a great idea," she said. "There just aren't any jobs out there, and what jobs there are there are no benefits."

The woman, who asked for anonymity, said she had worked at Tri-Con Industries in Cape Girardeau for four years and was making $6.95 an hour when she was laid off.

She has been collecting unemployment benefits since last spring, and her 26 weeks of jobless benefits will end in about a week.

She came to the Missouri Division of Employment Security office Monday afternoon to look into obtaining continued benefits under a federal job-training program designed to assist workers whose jobs have been eliminated because of imports.

The woman said she is having difficulty making ends meet. "I have to support myself. My husband is permanently disabled."

She said that her husband's disability payments don't begin to pay the bills, which include a home mortgage and approximately $140 in monthly utility costs.

"We have all the expenses of a normal household," she said. "I have no money left to go to the store or to go shopping. We have to eat plain and simple foods and get by the best we can."

She said she can't support herself and her husband on a minimum-wage or part-time job.

"I have been on job interviews and I've looked for work, but it's all been part-time work," she said.

"I've worked all of my life and this is the second time in my working years that I've drawn unemployment," she said. "It's heartbreaking to you when you are used to working."

She said that while things are tough for her, they must be even more difficult for unemployed parents who are trying to take care of their children. "They must be having a terrible time," she said.

A 31-year-old unemployed woman also expressed support for extending jobless benefits.

"I think it would be a benefit to some people," said the woman, who previously had worked at a factory near Kankakee, Ill., and recently moved to Cape Girardeau in search of work.

The woman, who visited the Missouri Division of Employment Security office to apply for jobless benefits, said an extension would allow recipients more time to obtain work.

The woman, who asked for anonymity, said she could not afford to rent an efficiency apartment on the pay she received at the Illinois factory.

She said she hoped she would better be able to make ends meet in Cape Girardeau, where rental housing costs are lower.

She said it's not just a question of finding a job, it's a question of affordability. "I think if you want to find a job, you can find a job. But that won't necessarily mean you can make ends meet."

Under a benefits extension bill that was overwhelmingly approved by the House and Senate last week, unemployed people in Missouri would be eligible for a seven-week extension. The potential benefits are a maximum of $170 per week.

Nationwide, 20-week extensions would be granted in seven states where unemployment is 8 percent or higher and 13-week extensions would go to 14 states with 7 percent unemployment. All others, such as Missouri, where the state unemployment rate is less than 7 percent, would get the seven-week extension.

President Bush has threatened to veto the $6.4 billion bill, saying he has to protect taxpayers as well as the unemployed.