Economists generally agree that the most effective form of stimulus spending during an economic downturn is to get funding into the hands of people who most need assistance and will quickly use the dollars in their community. (See, for example, p. 10 of the Congressional testimony by Mark Zandi, the chief economist and cofounder of Moody’s Economy.com.) One way the economic stimulus bill (known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) has been accomplishing that objective is by extending unemployment insurance benefits for people who regular period of unemployment benefits would have run out.

In the first six months after its passage (from February through July 2009), federal aid to jobless workers generated over $401 million in direct relief to Wisconsin families that needed help and to the communities hardest hit by the recession. That total includes more than $270 million in federally-funded extended benefits, lasting up to 33 weeks in Wisconsin. In addition, the stimulus bill boosted unemployment checks by $25 a week, generating over $131 million to Wisconsin workers to help cover basic necessities.

Unfortunately, although the recession hasn’t abated very much, and employment hasn’t started to rebound, extended unemployment benefits will soon be ending for thousands of unemployed state residents. According to a report by the National Employment Law Project, a total of more than 24,000 Wisconsin workers are expected to collect their last unemployment check by the end of 2009 – even as they struggle to find work and pay their bills in the midst of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. That includes about 8,800 workers who will reach the end of their federally-funded jobless benefits this month.

A bill in Congress would provide another extension in the unemployment benefits for jobless workers. That bill deserves prompt enactment.