WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Democrats today launched an online counter - available here - to track the growing number of Americans who are losing their unemployment insurance. The counter is illustrative of the approximately 72,000 Americans who are losing benefits, on average, every week - the equivalent of one person every eight seconds.
On Dec. 28, 1.3 million Americans immediately lost all of their unemployment insurance, with the expiration of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. That number continues to grow as more and more Americans exhaust their state benefits and are unable to receive assistance under the expired federal program. Democrats are urging House Republicans to end their opposition and join the effort to extend the federal program, which has never been discontinued with the rate of long-term unemployment as high as it is today. This vital economic lifeline helps struggling Americans feed and clothe their families while they look for new employment.
“Every week tens of thousands additional Americans are losing their unemployment insurance," said Ways and Means Ranking Member Levin. “The urgency increases every day that passes without House Republican support for an extension."
INCREASING HARM: Americans Losing UI
