MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican legislators have asked an advisory council to review a package of changes to Wisconsin's unemployment benefit rules, including linking eligibility to the state's unemployment rate, devoting millions in tax dollars to reducing federal debt and scaling back benefits during training in an effort to help the state recover from a surge of unemployment claims during the recession.

Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, chairman of the Assembly's labor and workforce development committees and one of the package's chief authors, said the reforms could save as much as $60 million a year and help bring the state's unemployment benefit trust fund back into solvency.

The Republicans sent the changes to the Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Council on Monday and asked for feedback by May 2. The council is a group of labor and business leaders who advise legislators and the Department of Workforce Development on unemployment compensation policies.