Unemployment insurance not dead, US Democrats vow

　
US Democrats insisted Thursday that efforts to extend unemployment benefits were not dead despite their failure to pass Congress, warning that ignoring jobless struggles in an election year would be political dynamite.

Extended benefits beyond the standard 26 weeks of jobless aid expired in late December for more than 1.3 million Americans and counting.

President Barack Obama has called reviving the program a priority, but negotiations on how to do so deadlocked Tuesday as Democrats and Republicans clashed over how to pay for the additional aid.

With Congress going on a week-long break, the issue will not be debated again until January 27 at the earliest, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he intends to take up the matter when lawmakers return to Washington.

"We're going to continue to work on this until we get justice for these people," Reid told a press conference.

Two different proposals collapsed this week. While most Senators are amenable to extending the emergency benefits, Republicans are insisting that they be offset by other savings and that they do not add to the deficit.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi takes questions during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill …

One proposal by nine Republicans would have offered savings by preventing people from receiving both unemployment benefits and disability aid, coupled with additional spending cuts. Democrats rejected it because some of the cuts would hit programs that help the poor.

"The only conclusion anyone could draw is that they're looking for any excuse there is to deny these people the benefits they should have," Reid said.

Nancy Pelosi, top Democrat in the House of Representatives, said there was "no way" lawmakers would leave this issue hanging over their heads in November, when voters -- already frustrated with a poorly performing Congress -- go to the polls.

"I hope this is long gone before election time," she said.

House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, has stressed he would consider an extension of benefits if they were sensibly paid for, but he reiterated Thursday that he has yet to see such a plan, and was not convinced of the merits of the Senate proposals.

"I have seen dozens of ideas over in the Senate. I have no clue what they're closer to or what they aren't," Boehner said.

The long-term unemployed have emerged as one of the major hindrances to the US economic recovery, as statistics show jobless Americans are averaging 38 weeks to find new work.

Senator Chuck Schumer said Republicans might be swayed next week when they hear from constituents.

"When Republicans head back to their states this week they're going to hear from people who have lost or about to lose their unemployment benefits, and they may well change their minds," Schumer said.

Source Washington (AFP)