Kyl and Hatch Block Unemployment Aid for Tens of Thousands of America’s Jobless - by Mike Hall

Because of the actions of two Republican senators, every day this month 7,000 jobless workers have lost their unemployment insurance (UI) coverage. Each day these two Republicans continue to stand in the way of Senate passage of a UI extension, 7,000 more workers will run out of benefits.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has tried twice to bring the UI measure to a vote on the Senate floor. First Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), then Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) blocked action.

Christine Owens, executive director for the National Employment Law Project (NELP), says workers are “devastated” by the Republican roadblock.

Unemployed workers across the country are devastated and dismayed by the failure of the U.S. Senate to extend their lifeline. Every day, 7,000 additional workers are facing the total loss of benefits, in many cases after struggling to find work for more than a year and a half.

Ricky Macoy, a Navy veteran and an electrician with 30 years of experience, lost his job after a government contractor pulled the plug halfway through the project. He was supporting himself and his 11-year-old son through a combination of his unemployment insurance, his savings and by pawning his tools. His unemployment ran out two weeks ago, his savings are depleted. He tells NELP:

We have survived some hard times, especially this past year when work was nowhere to be found. Unemployment benefits have kept us afloat, but now we may soon end up homeless without them. What the Senate does now will make all the difference for me and my family…

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Posted by the Thomas Paine Project