U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, says she got extra weeks and larger unemployment benefits into the U.S. Senate's economic stimulus package. (It's not on President Barack Obama's desk yet. And I'm sure Cantwell didn't do it all by herself, but, hey, she helped.)

I wrote a story last week about the state House passing a bill to raise the minimum weekly unemployment benefit to $200 and the maximum to $586. That story said benefits could be gotten for a total of 72 weeks. That included the 33 weeks that Cantwell is talking about in her news release. You could get the additional weeks if you've used up all 39 weeks that are available now.

That extra $25 would appear to increase the weekly benefit to a minimum of $225 and a maximum of $611, but I haven't seen the full text of the bill in Congress and the House and Senate have not yet hammered out a final deal.

Cantwell Secures 33 Weeks More Support for Washington State Workers and Families Struggling with Unemployment

136,000 Unemployed Washingtonians Eligible for Additional Unemployment Insurance

WASHINGTON, DC – As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) successfully secured an additional 33 weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers in Washington state who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation benefits. Also, individuals receiving unemployment insurance could receive an additional $25 a week. Currently, there are more than 136,000 Washingtonians receiving unemployment benefits. More than 90,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in December of 2008, which is a 75 percent increase from a year ago.

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“As companies such as Starbucks, Boeing, and Weyerheuser announce job cuts, the reality of our country’s economy crisis hits home,” said Cantwell. “More than 200,000 job cuts have been announced this year, and in Washington state, the unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 7.1 percent, the biggest one month increase in more than three decades. In December alone, 90,331 new unemployment applications were filed in Washington state. By increasing and extending unemployment compensation, struggling families can get the additional support they need to make it through these tough economic times.”

Washington’s current unemployment rate is 7.1 percent. Columbia, Stevens, Lewis, Cowlitz, and Grays Harbor Counties all had unemployment rates over 11.0 percent in December 2008.

In addition to extending the temporary emergency unemployment compensation program through December 31, 2009 and creating an additional, federally-funded $25 weekly benefit to individuals receiving unemployment compensation, the package provides incentive payments for states that modernize their programs.

The Special Transfers for Unemployment Compensation Modernization section of the stimulus package permits the transfer of up to $7 billion in funds from the federal unemployment account to state accounts. Funds will be distributed to states that qualify based on the percentage of a state’s share of federal unemployment taxes by state employers. For example, Washington state currently qualifies for $48 million in additional funding. Should Washington enact one additional reform, the state will qualify for the full $145 million in federal modernization funds.

The Special Transfers in Fiscal Year 2009 for Administration section transfers $500 million from the federal employment security administration to state accounts within 30 days of enactment. Washington state would receive $10.5 million.

Finally, a new, temporary emergency contingency fund is created under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. These funds will be available to states with increased cash welfare caseloads under TANF.