LAWMAKER SEES HELP FOR SHOEMAKERS

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson said the bill that extends unemployment benefits to laid-off workers for an additional 13 weeks will be especially helpful to people who lost their jobs as a result of the closings of Brown Show Co. plants in Missouri.

The bill met with approval Tuesday in Congress. The House passed the $2.7 billion bill on a vote of 404-8, and the Senate later approved it.

The revised, extended-benefits unemployment package extends the June 13 expiration date to July 4, and provides 13 additional weeks of benefits to certain insured unemployed workers, specifically:

Workers who exhaust their regular benefits before June 13. They would be eligible for either 13 or 20 weeks of extended benefits depending on unemployment statistics in their state.

Those who use up their emergency benefits before June 13 would be eligible for 13 more weeks of emergency benefits.

Those who exhaust their regular benefits between June 13 and July 4 may collect 13 more weeks of benefits.

Emerson said the laid-off shoe plant workers aren't the only people who will benefit. The 8th District Republican said: "This tight economy has spun off all along `Main Street.' Hopefully, it's about to change.

"People in between jobs can only tap into these funds as a last resort. When the economy improves throughout this year, there's a distinct possibility and I hope probability that these funds won't have to be exhausted at all."

The bill also states that workers who exhaust their emergency benefits after the deadline are ineligible for additional benefits.