Jobless Benefits for Millions to End in January- Unemployment
About one million laid-off workers will see their unemployment benefits end in January unless Congress acts quickly to renew existing federally paid extensions, according to a new survey and legislators and state officials.
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
David Maung/European Pressphoto Agency
A man waits to use a free telephone to speak with an adviser about collecting unemployment benefits in Calexico, Calif.
Enlarge This Image
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Standing in line at a job fair sponsored by Monster.com in New York City earlier this month.
Readers’ Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
Read All Comments (168) »
The record extension of emergency benefits that was signed into law on Nov. 6 was widely praised as a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Americans who had spent a year or more in fruitless searches for jobs.
The new law provided up to 14 weeks of federally paid aid to unemployed people who had exhausted existing state and federal limits, benefits that already lasted up to 79 weeks in many states. And for the majority of states with particularly high unemployment, it added six more weeks of payments, bringing the potential total to 99 weeks.
But many legislators, state aid officials and struggling workers apparently failed to read the fine print. The added federal benefits were built on a series of previous extensions that are slated to end on Dec. 31, unless Congress renews these programs. People who lost their jobs after July 1 of this year, for example, would receive no federal extensions once their customary six months of state aid ran out.
While discussions have started, Congress is not yet considering a specific proposal. And unless it acts before the Christmas break, officials warn, the extensions will end. If Congress, now caught up in the health care overhaul, delays action until next year, millions would face gaps in aid that many thought would be automatic.
There are six people looking for every available job, and these payments are enabling people to pay their mortgages and put food on the table, said Representative Jim McDermott, Democrat of Washington, who championed the Nov. 6 law and hopes to light a new fire under Congress.
Duration : 0:3:33
STUNNING VIDEO UNEARTHED: Obama 07 Revelation: Health Care Reform Requires Tax Hikes — Savings Just a Theory Breitbart TV and Naked Emperor News