Senate Passes Bill Extending Unemployment Benefits for Steelworkers

Minnesota’s Senate has passed a bill extending unemployment benefits for laid-off steelworkers, however it is not a done deal. 

Thousands of miners have been laid-off on the Iron Range amid a sharp downturn in the domestic steel economy.  Hundreds have already exhausted their unemployment benefits. 

The Senate voted 62-3 Thursday to extend those checks by 26 weeks. 

The bill faces an uncertain future in the House, where Republicans who control the chamber want to the pair the extension with a tax break for businesses that pay into the state’s unemployment insurance fund.  Democrats have opposed that measure. 

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk says he’s working on a deal with Republican House Speaker Kurk Daudt that would quickly extend benefits with a vow to pass a tax cut in the coming weeks.