Via Bloomberg:
Unemployment benefits for 1.3 million people in the U.S. are poised to end Dec. 28 as Democrats failed in their last-ditch effort to extend the jobless assistance before the House adjourns tomorrow.
Republicans who control the House refused to keep the aid flowing to the long-term unemployed without agreement on budget cuts elsewhere. Extending the benefits would cost $26 billion over two years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid today said the lawmakers won’t have a chance to act before leaving for the holiday recess. It will be the first issue taken up when Congress reconvenes next month, Reid said, and lawmakers would try to make the benefits retroactive.
“This is something we are focused on like a laser, and we’re going to continue working on it,” Reid told reporters today. “It’s been extremely difficult, procedurally, to move things along.”
The failure of Congress to agree could put a dent in the nation’s economy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending the program would boost growth by 0.2 percent and add about 200,000 jobs.