Deal trims maximum jobless benefits to 73 weeks

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Updated: March 20, 2012 8:16AM

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans will continue to receive long-term unemployment benefits under legislation approved Friday in Congress, but the scope of the program is being scaled back to cover fewer people by the end of the year.

The measure, which also extends a payroll tax cut through the rest of 2012, begins to wind down the program of extended federal jobless benefits that Congress first approved at the height of the recession. The bill reduces the current maximum 99 weeks of benefits to 73 weeks by September. For those in all but about a dozen of the highest unemployment states, benefits will be cut off after 63 weeks.

The benefits are for people out of work more than six months. The program has provided checks to about 18 million out-of-work Americans who exhausted the 26 weeks of state jobless benefits.

Democrats had hoped to keep the maximum number as close as possible to 99 weeks, arguing that the benefits are critical for those struggling to make ends meet and provide a boost to the economy. Republicans wanted to reduce the maximum time span for benefits to 59 weeks, saying too many people don’t seriously look for a job until the government checks quit coming.

About 43 percent of the nation’s nearly 13 million unemployed have been without work for more than six months.