Bush signs unemployment benefits bill

Measure sails through Congress

President Bush meets with congressional leaders.

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VIDEO U.S. President Bush announced a new economic plan that he says will create millions of jobs by encouraging small business growth and consumer spending. CNN's Dana Bash reports (January 8) PLAY VIDEO BUSH ECONOMIC PLAN • Cost: $670 billion over 10 years • Eliminates tax on stock dividends • Tax breaks for businesses,   individuals • Increases child tax credit • Extends unemployment benefits • Decreases so-called marriage penalty tax SPECIAL REPORT • Text: Bush announces plan • Interactive: Details of the Bush plan • Impact of Bush plan open to interpretation • CNN/Money: How much will you save? • CNN/Money: Special Report -- The Bush plan • Graphic: Dividend Tax Cut: Who Will It Help? • Explainer: Comparison of Bush, Democratic plans

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush signed a bill Wednesday to extend another 13 weeks of federal unemployment benefits to more than 2 million laid-off workers, including about 800,000 whose benefits ran out after Christmas.

"It is my honor to sign this piece of legislation, which should bring some comfort to those of our fellow citizens who need extra help during the time in which they try to find a job," Bush said, surrounded by congressional leaders at the White House.

The measure was approved earlier in the day by the House of Representatives by a vote of 416-4. The Senate passed the bill on a voice vote Tuesday afternoon. It was the first bill passed by the 108th Congress, reflecting a newfound political focus on the economy.

The bill will pay benefits retroactively to those workers whose benefits lapsed in December, and would cover 1.6 million people whose benefits are scheduled to expire by May, said Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Illinois.

"Passing this legislation will help millions of families nationwide, easing the burden that these families might otherwise experience if their unemployment insurance were to have expired on December 28, 2002," Fitzgerald said. "It will help unemployed Americans feed their families and pay their bills while giving them an additional five months to find new jobs."

The issue was left unresolved in December, when the Senate voted to extend unemployment insurance but the House passed a different measure and no compromise was reached before lawmakers left town for the holidays. Democrats sharply criticized House Republican leaders for failing to extend the benefits, and Bush urged Congress to resume the payments.

House Democrats said Wednesday they wanted to offer an alternative that would cover an additional 1 million people who have exhausted both state and federal benefits, but they did not have the votes for passage.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, said Republicans are playing a "good cop-bad cop" game, with Bush as the good cop and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay as the bad cop.

"We have a million people -- a million Americans out there that have worked every day, that have paid into the unemployment compensation package -- and the bad cops are saying, 'forget about it,' " Rangel said.

But DeLay, R-Texas, said no proposal would have been good enough for Democrats.

"I would venture to guess they would have unlimited unemployment compensation, so someone could stay out of work for the rest their lives and get unemployment compensation if they get their way," he said.

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