Guinn pushes $57 million in aid for laid-off workers

Mathis Winkler

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2001 | 10:52 a.m.

For now, though, Guinn said he hopes a $57 million relief package will help thousands of jobless people pay their bills during the coming months.

"I know what it means to have a family when you're unemployed," said Guinn, the son of an Arkansas sharecropper. "I've experienced it first-hand as a child. I know what it did to my parents. I know what it did to my brothers and sisters."

Under the governor's plan, unemployment funding no longer counts against Medicaid assistance and help received through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which gives families cash.

According to the plan, people can receive between $452 and $667 more per month, depending on family size and the number of people per household receiving unemployment benefits. This includes $200 per month in health coverage.

The plan applies only to those laid off after Sept. 11.

Though it may take at least 25 days to process people's applications, Guinn said that residents can first sign up for food stamps, then look for help under TANF.

The governor's plan will be funded from money left over from federal programs that the state has saved during the past six years, Guinn said.

State officials expect the $57 million to last about 18 months, but the governor said he would call a special session to tap into the state's $140 million rainy day fund if necessary.

"I will do what I have to do," Guinn said, adding that he's also working with businesses to encourage them to donate to charities.

Democratic legislative leaders praised the governor for shifting the state money to take care of the current emergency, but they said long-term solutions are needed to "reinvigorate our economy in such a way as to avoid future dramatic downturns like the one we have just experienced."

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said they have started to prepare a package to present to the 2003 Legislature.

In a joint statement they said the unemployment and assistance programs should be "more user friendly" and easier to access in times of emergency. And there should also be a push for a "more aggressive approach to economic diversification."

"Every time we have a recession or economic downturn, we talk about the need to diversify our economy, but as soon as our tourism and gaming industries rebound, those efforts are put on the back burner," the trio said.

"This should be a wake-up call that this hot-and-cold approach to economic diversification is not adequate," they said.

Garth Winckler, president of the United Way of Southern Nevada, said the state's extra assistance will allow his organization to focus on food drives rather than attempting to pay people's rent and utilities.

D. Taylor, staff director for the Culinary Union, agreed.

But, "obviously, the best solution is getting people back to work," he said.