Bill Extending Unemployment Benefits for Laid Off Miners Amended to Jobs Bill on Senate Floor

ST. PAUL, Minn — A bill to extend unemployment benefits for laid off miners is one step closer to approval.

Senator Hauschild’s Bill was successfully Amended to Jobs Bill during Senate Floor Debate.

Iron Range Senators Hauschild and Farnsworth brought the bill forward.

If passed over six hundred laid off steelworkers would be eligible for the extended benefits.

“When our miners are laid off, it doesn’t just impact their families—it threatens the economic fabric of the entire Iron Range,” said Sen. Hauschild in a press release, “These are the folks who power our economy and have been the backbone of our Range economy. Today, we stood by them and expedited an extension of unemployment benefits for our miners. This amendment gives laid off workers at Minorca and HibTac a critical lifeline while we fight to restart production and secure the future of mining in our region. Now we need the State House to join us and pass this extension in unemployment as quickly as possible.”

Roughly one month ago Cleveland Cliffs announced the temporary idling of Minorca Mine and partial idle of HibTac.

The idling was due to having excess taconite and could last several months.