Wolf To Sign Bill For Temporary Unemployment Claim Processing Fix
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- A spokesman says Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf will sign a bill headed for his desk intended to be a short-term fix for problems with the state's unemployment compensation processing system.
It all started last December, when a dispute between Senate Republicans and Governor Wolf over state funding for the system led to hundreds of layoffs and the closure of several unemployment call centers.
A Wolf administration official testified at budget hearings in February that at one point, people were waiting up to six hours for assistance on the phone…if they could get through at all.
Minority Leader Jay Costa, an Allegheny County Democrat, spoke Wednesday just before the state Senate voted to send the governor a bill providing additional funding for the unemployment comp processing system.
"This is a short-term solution," Costa said, "but with a commitment to work together to be able to get to a long-term solution to this very important issue."
A spokesman for the governor warns that if a long-term solution is not found, the system will be thrown into "chaos" once again.
