300,000 Jobless to Lose Federal Unemployment Aid Next Week
As I write, the House of Representatives is finally taking up the scaled down jobs bill that includes a continuation of existing federal unemployment insurance programs through November 30 instead of December 31.
But even if it passes the House today, eligibility for the extended federal jobless aid programs will expire — at least temporarily — on June 2nd. Shameless disregard and deficit fear-mongering have delayed action in the House for so long that even if the Senate knew what bill it was getting from the House, it wouldn’t have the time to act before June 2nd. The Senate has nothing scheduled today, and won’t return until June 8th.
Meanwhile, according to a report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP):
The Department of Labor has reported that more than 300,000 workers will run out of benefits by June 12th, the end of the first week Congress returns from recess.
NELP estimates that if Congress fails to restore these programs 1.2 million long-term unemployed will lose jobless benefits in the month of June alone.
More than 15 million Americans are officially unemployed right now — as many, in fact, as were unemployed in 1933 at the depths of the Great Depression. Nearly 7 million have been out of work for six months or more. More than 5 million of them currently rely on the extended federal unemployment insurance programs. And those ranks have been increasing as tens of thousands each week exhaust their state-based 26 weeks of benefits.
Now, eligibility to apply for the extended federal programs, or to apply for the next Tier of benefits for those already receiving them, will start expiring next week.
Needless to say, your Senators and Representatives need to hear from you.
You can reach their offices in Washington today toll-free at 888-254-5087. And you can contact them through their state and district offices before they return to Washington June 8.
Assuming there’s a House vote today, we’ll see who in that chamber is on the side of America’s working families and the unemployed, and who’s on the side of wealthy hedge fund managers and corporations who get tax breaks to ship jobs overseas.
Tags: HR 4213, jobless benefits extension, jobs, unemployment
Here’s some recommended reading:
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Robert Reich
Why Deficit Hawks Are Killing the Recovery
Friday, May 28, 2010
Consumer spending is 70 percent of the American economy, so if consumers can’t or won’t spend we’re back in the soup. Yet the government just reported that consumer spending stalled in April - the first month consumers didn’t up their spending since last September. Instead, consumers boosted their savings, probably because they’re worried about the slow pace of job growth (next Friday’s report will likely show gains, but the number will continue to be tiny compared to the overall ranks of the jobless), as well as a lackluster “recovery.” They’re also still carrying enormous debt burdens. One in four home owners is still underwater. And median wages are going nowhere.
So what’s Congress doing to stoke the economy as consumers pull back? In a word, nothing. Democratic House leaders yesterday shrank their jobs bill to a droplet. They jettisoned proposed subsidies to help the unemployed buy health insurance, as well as higher matching funds for state-run health programs such as Medicaid. And they trimmed extended unemployment insurance.
“Members who are from low unemployment areas are very concerned about the deficit,” Nancy Pelosi explained. She might have added that so-called Blue Dog Democrats have the same warped view of fiscal policy as most Republicans. They fail to distinguish between short-term deficits (good) and long-term debt (bad).
…
http://robertreich.org/post/640818666/why-deficit-hawks-are-killing-the-recovery
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MARCH TO WASHINGTON DC
JUNE 22 - JUNE 24, 2010
UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS
FOR AMERICA
JOBS NOW! TIER 5 NOW!
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