Congress starts work on Biden's call for six-month renewal through end of September. As Congress starts work on President Joe Biden's proposals to extend pandemic unemployment benefits, the acting director of the Oregon Employment Department says straightforward extensions that are on the table will be easier to manage. But David Gerstenfeld also said he and counterpart agencies in other states would like as much lead time as possible to prepare for any changes and avoid interruptions in benefit payments. States pay benefits but the U.S. Department of Labor oversees them. The latest extensions, which Congress approved at the end of December, are scheduled to end March 13.