Cross-posted at ProgressiveFuture.org
Republican Senator Tom Coburn thinks this is a good time to risk more job loss by cutting off unemployment insurance benefits.
So, he singlehandedly blocked Congress from renewing benefits before they expired on April 5th. The same way Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) held up unemployment benefits until the final hour a few months ago. Different Republican senator, same backwards agenda.
But, this time, the unemployment benefits actually expired. More than 200,000 people have lost unemployment benefits already and as many as 1 million could have their lifelines cut this month.
And to make matters worse, as these folks cut back on groceries and other essentials, even less money goes into our economy and even more jobs are lost. In fact, cutting unemployment benefits could cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs by the end of the year.
The Senate will vote this week on whether to extend unemployment benefits for another 30 days.
They must do this, but it’s not enough. We need to provide states and citizens with the stability they need by extending benefits through the end of the year.
Click here to tell Congress that 30 days is not enough.