SALEM - A Senate-passed measure to make about 18,000 unemployed Oregonians eligible for another 13 weeks of jobless benefits moved closer to final legislative action on Wednesday.

The House Business, Labor & Consumer Affairs Committee endorsed the bill, and the full House is expected to vote on it by early next week.

The measure would help unemployed workers who have exhausted their available benefits under various federal and state extensions of assistance. About 1,900 people are using up their benefit eligibility each month.

The measure would add a new 13-week state extension of benefits, paid for by $29 million in the unemployment trust fund that's financed by employer payroll taxes.

The spending was authorized by state lawmakers in a special session last year, but the money wasn't used because Congress extended benefits under federal law. The bill reauthorizes the funding.

The House committee chairwoman, Rep. Betsy Close, R-Albany, was criticized last week by Democrats who accused her of delaying action on the measure after the Senate passed it on March 5.

Close on Wednesday said she would speak for the measure in the House and that she had drawn jobless benefits herself in the past.

Oregon AFL-CIO President Tim Nesbitt told the committee that the "needs are quite compelling" for the bill with 150,000 Oregonians out of work.

Bob Castagna of the Oregon Catholic Conference urged approval of the extension and said lawmakers may have to again consider the issue this year if the economy doesn't improve.

"Our interest is securing a safety net and not disrupting people's lives," he said.

Oregon's unemployment rate last month was 7.3 percent, well above the 5.8 percent national average.

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On the Net:

Bill No. SB2

www.leg.state.or.us