McDonnell ducking for cover on jobless benefits

Members of Congress have their hands full right now with crises in the financial, housing and automotive industries. They don't have time to bail out Bob McDonnell from a political mess of his own making.

But that's what the Republican gubernatorial candidate asked Virginia's congressional representatives to do in a letter last week. McDonnell made a strategic blunder last month when he inserted himself into a partisan fight over whether the state should accept $125 million in federal stimulus aid.

In order to collect the money, the state must make two modest adjustments in its eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits. Those changes would allow about 9,000 part-time workers as well as men and women currently enrolled in training programs to qualify for jobless aid. The expansion would cost about $20 million, making the stimulus package a real bargain, but Republican legislators refused the cash. Several publicly stated that they didn't want to be bossed around by the White House.

McDonnell didn't have a vote in the matter, but he plunged in to defend his recalcitrant Republican colleagues. Now he's sweating alongside the rest of the GOP as public outcry builds, encouraged by gleeful Democrats.

Rather than admit their mistake and work with Gov. Tim Kaine to resolve the mess, Republicans are now trying to save face. Toward that end, McDonnell penned a letter asking Congress to rewrite the rules for the stimulus package to make it perfectly, 150 percent, crystal clear that the eligibility changes can be rolled back in future years.

The U.S. Department of Labor had already provided assurances on just that point before the General Assembly voted. In a clarification requested by Louisiana officials, federal authorities stated that the rule "does not prohibit the state's legislature from repealing these provisions in the future," adding, "if a state eventually decides to repeal or modify any of these provisions, it may do so, and it will not be required to return any incentive payments."

That's not good enough for the GOP. McDonnell says he's concerned about a requirement that states act in "good faith" when adopting the eligibility criteria. The extremely patient folks at the Labor Department responded with still more assurances that there is "no penalty" if states later repeal the new benefits.

"Good faith simply means that if the state makes the benefit expansion, the department expects that the state intends to pay benefits based on the provision," according to a statement from the department. "The fact that some legislators are opposed to the expansion or will try to repeal it later does not disqualify the state."

In other words, as long as the legislature approves the expansion and actually pays out benefits as intended in the short term, it can collect $125 million.

But McDonnell and Republican legislators still won't take yes for an answer. They want the rules to be changed so that Virginia can put an expiration date on legislation enacting the eligibility revisions.

It makes no sense to demand an automatic cutoff when Republicans can't agree among themselves on the merits of the proposed eligibility changes.

Senate Republicans favor increased support for workers participating in job skills programs but object to expanded part-time benefits. House Republicans oppose both. That's a discussion that can and should occur once data are available to do a thorough cost-benefit analysis. The opportunity exists to test the value of both expansions using 100 percent federal funding, but McDonnell and Virginia Republicans continue to quibble and complain. The truth is, they're hoping to provoke federal authorities into disqualifying Virginia so someone else can take the blame.

But the blame rests squarely on the right people already. McDonnell and Republican legislators have the power to solve this problem now. They should do so immediately and stop asking Congress to save them from their own self-inflicted injuries.