Emergency unemployment benefits to expire Dec. 28th
(Washington) — The federally-funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program is set to expire next week, and thousands of midstate families will be affected.
Of the roughly 73,000 Pennsylvanians receiving the extended federal jobless benefits, 2,000 are from Lancaster County and 2,100 are from York County.
Pennsylvania US Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat, is pushing to keep the program in place.
“What strikes me is that even in counties that have a very small population — hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of families are impacted by this,” he says.
Data from the Unemployment Compensation System show 270 recipients in Mifflin County, and 190 in Perry County.
“The Economic Policy Institute analysis found that 310,000 jobs and $37.8-billion of economic activity would be lost if this program were to expire,” Casey added, speaking of the nationwide numbers.
The program provided a maximum of 37 weeks of unemployment compensation on top of 26 weeks of standard state benefits.
The Senate returns to session the week of January 6th and Majority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to make an extension their first order of business.
Such an extension would cost the federal government about $25-billion per year.
It was not addressed in the recent budget deal.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
