Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Unemployment Benefits and COBRA Extensions at Risk

Congress did not pass the 30 day extension of the Unemployment Insurance and COBRA programs before going into recess last week. Over 11 million jobless workers are collecting unemployment insurance in the United States. In April alone, as many as 1 million unemployed workers could lose benefits if Congress does not act before April 5th to extend them.

According to the National Employment Law Project, “it appears extremely unlikely that the Senate will be called back into session for a vote before April 5th, when the programs expire.” NELP reports that the Senate has scheduled a vote to end debate on the bill (a cloture vote) for 5:30 pm on Monday, April 12th, at which time they'll try to move the 30 day extension through as quickly as possible. The Senate is also working with the House to resolve some differences in the bill that would extend these programs through the end of 2010.

For more information on Congress' failure to act, you can view the NELP press release.

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