Unemployment insurance running out for millions

Roughly 15 million Americans are out of work. One third of those people are currently receiving unemployment insurance. At the end of this month, if Congress does not change things, 1.2 million people will see their unemployment insurance expire -- a number that will increase each subsequent month if no extension to benefits is granted.

"It's a pretty grim picture for these people," said Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute. "The states have done away with emergency assistance programs. They can still qualify for food stamps, but that's a limited amount and only covers food. There are some rental assistance programs, but they are small with long waiting lists. Most of these people are just going to hit a wall."

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently five job seekers for every available job.

President Obama, in his weekly radio address on Saturday, blamed Senate Republicans for blocking legislation that would, among other things, extend unemployment benefits to the end of November.

"There are still millions of Americans out of work, and millions more who are struggling to pay the bills," the president said. "The legislation in the Senate right now would extend unemployment benefits to those workers who lost their job through no fault of their own."

Obama said that "Republican leadership in the Senate won't even allow this legislation to come up for a vote.  And if this obstruction continues, unemployed Americans will see their benefits stop."

Senate Democrats are trying to bring the Senate to a vote on its version of a jobs bill that passed in the House at the end of 2009. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, has expressed a desire to move the bill but, without any Republican support, he would not have the 60 votes necessary to override a Republican filibuster. Reid has reportedly been wooing Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both R-ME, and Senator George Voinovich, R-Ohio, but it remains to be seen if he will have any success.

If the Senate does not pass an extension to unemployment insurance benefits, either in the current jobs bill or in some other form, those benefits will lapse for 1.2 million people on June 30.

The Senate Republican Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, R-KY, responded to the President's remarks in a release:

"Economists are warning us every day to get the debt under control - and yet for the past two weeks Democrats have been arguing among themselves not about how much to lower the debt, but about how they want to add to it with the deficit extenders bill. Americans want us to show we're serious about lowering the debt, so the President and his allies in Congress have a choice to make: they can either vote to reduce the deficit, or they can lock arms and dig an even deeper hole of debt when most Americans think $13 trillion is far too much already. The choice isn't between passing a bill or not -- it's whether or not we add tens of billions more to the debt in the process."

"The Republicans say they are against the jobs bill because it will increase the deficit," EPI's Eisenbrey said.  "Actually, the Republicans are against anything the Democrats propose."

Eisenbrey said that deficit spending is precisely what is called for in these extreme conditions.

"There are no jobs for 80 percent of job seekers," he said. "The government needs to deficit spend, not only to provide a safety net for those who cannot find work through no fault of their own, but also to spur economic activity that will create jobs "

Eisenbrey said the job bill being considered by the Senate has several elements EPI supports, including targeted aid to states to prevent looming layoffs of state employees.

"Another provision in the bill targets funds to keep teachers in their jobs," Eisenbrey said. "Without such assistance, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 teachers could lose their jobs next year. That's bad for the economy and for the students."

Eisenbrey said the nation needs public service employment programs, like those of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, to help turn the economy around. There are no provisions for such programs in the current jobs legislation.

A Local Jobs for America bill, which would provide public service employment, has been introduced in both houses of Congress, but is currently stuck in committees.