Glitch could cut jobless benefits for a million

[katty]

more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34020307/ns/business-the_new_york_times/

By Erik Eckholm

updated 1 hour, 35 minutes ago

About one million laid-off workers will see their unemployment benefits end in January unless Congress acts quickly to renew existing federally paid extensions, according to a new report and legislators and state officials.

The record-long extension of emergency benefits that was hastily signed into law on Nov. 6 was widely praised as an essential lifeline for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who had spent a year or more in fruitless searches for jobs.

The new law provided up to 14 weeks of federally paid aid to unemployed people who had exhausted existing state and federal limits, benefits that already ranged up to 79 weeks in many states. And for the majority of states with particularly high unemployment, it added on an additional six weeks of payments, bring the potential total to 99 weeks.

[tonysam]

1. It's like these fools voted on something they didn't read

or understand the fine print.

I shudder to think they are going to drag this out the way they did the recent bill.

[katty]

2. yep--they will drag this out because they DON'T live in OUR world

down here, the common folk are an annoying mystery to them, even though they sure enjoy the paycheck and perks.

[Possumpoint]

3. Makes You Wonder

how the drop dead date was inserted into the language of the bill.

[truedelphi]

4. K & R for reading later. n/t

[earth mom]

5. I posted this in GD the other day-I hope this OP can stay on the greatest page. nt