Kevin Rader Wants Crist to Call for Special Session to Deal with Unemployment Benefits

A day after the Legislature convened for a special session and quickly adjourned, Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Boynton Beach, sent a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist asking for yet another special session -- this time to deal with unemployment benefits. Rader, who is running for the Senate, sent a letter to Crist on Wednesday, imploring the governor to call another special session or to issue an executive order to take part in the extension of unemployment benefits that worked its way through the U.S. Senate this week.

Every week, thousands of Floridians are losing the funds necessary for them and their families to survive in this catastrophic recession, wrote Rader. You and I share the same concerns about our unemployed workers who have exhausted their eligible weeks of unemployment compensation benefits, and it is our duty to help them.

The amendment I filed to SB 1736 would have extended Floridas eligibility to receive 100 percent federal funding for our unemployed workers' compensation benefits at no additional cost to our small-business owners, wrote Rader. Yesterday, I filed similar legislation (HB 55C) that, again, would be 100 percent federally funded, at no cost to our businesses, and would allow for immediate assistance to Floridas families and economy.

I implore you to take action on this issue immediately, concluded Rader. Either call another special session to consider my bill amending state law for unemployment eligibility or, if possible, issue an executive order to allow long-term unemployed Floridians to participate in the federal extension of benefits once approved by Congress.