HELENA – U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says his idea to end the $25-a-week increase in unemployment benefits is being seriously considered as a way to save money.
The move undoes part of the Obama Administration’s stimulus funding from last year. Cutting the increase would save about $6 billion a year.
Congress is currently grappling with new bills renewing long-term aid for the unemployed and other measures from last year. But worries over the deficit are causing the package to stall.
Tester says it makes sense to cut the $25 addition to unemployment checks because it was only meant to be temporary anyway.
He says it saves taxpayers money without “yanking the carpet out from under Americans who are looking for work.”