WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate has sent to the White House for President Bush’s signature a bill that would ensure up to 33 weeks of unemployment benefits in Rhode Island and other states with high rates of joblessness.

The White House has indicated that Mr. Bush will sign the measure, which cleared the House in October and would guarantee at least 20 weeks of benefits to jobless workers nationwide.

“This is extraordinarily important legislation at a time when the nation — particularly Rhode Island — is losing jobs left and right,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., one of the chief sponsors of the bill, which was passed by the chamber late yesterday afternoon.

In figures for September released last month, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate hit 8.8 percent, nudging out Michigan’s as the worst in the nation. The current unemployment rate nationwide is 6.5 percent.

Reed noted that the bill is to be financed completely by the federal government, so the extra benefits will not burden state governments already hard pressed to meet budgets.

The bill builds on legislation enacted in June to fix the basic minimum duration of jobless pay at 13 weeks. It adds 7 extra weeks — for a total of 20 weeks — of coverage for the unemployed across the nation.

Once enacted, the bill will add 20 weeks — for a total of 33 weeks — of benefits in Rhode Island, Connecticut and 17 other states where unemployment has averaged over 6 percent for the past three months.

The number of high-unemployment states could rise as state figures are calculated each month. Earlier yesterday, the Labor Department reported that continuing claims for unemployment compensation have reached their highest level in 26 years.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said yesterday morning: “Because of the tight job market, the president believes it would be appropriate to further extend unemployment benefits and he would sign legislation that is now in front of Congress.”

jmulligan@belo-dc.com