President Barack Obama will continue to press Congress for an emergency extension of unemployment benefits for 1.3 million Americans who are scheduled to lose them on Dec. 28, the White House said Friday.
“When Congress comes back to work, their first order of business should be making this right,” Obama told a news conference.. “I know a bipartisan group is working on a three-month extension of this insurance. They should pass it, and I’ll sign it right away.”
Obama said that congressional inaction will cost job seekers “a vital economic lifeline at Christmas time,” leaving many without any income source.
National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling told reporters the “overwhelming majority” of those who will lose benefits are jobless “because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“These are not the people who caused the financial crisis, they are the victims of the financial crisis,” he said, noting the unemployed are only eligible for benefits if they keep looking for jobs.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at
via White House will push unemployment extension when Congress reconvenes | cleveland.com.
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