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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rick Faurot who wrote (33191)	12/20/2003 8:36:35 PM
From: Rick Faurot	Respond to of 89467

Democrats Chide Republicans on Jobless Benefits Sat December 20, 2003 11:08 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats on Saturday chided the Republican-controlled Congress for recessing for the holidays without extending an emergency benefits program for jobless workers, which is set to expire this weekend. "Unfortunately this Christmas will be a hard one for tens of thousands of Americans," Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. She said up to 90,000 jobless workers each week will exhaust their normal unemployment benefits after the current program expires on Sunday. "Last month, the Republican leadership in Congress failed to extend unemployment benefits. They argued that extending unemployment benefits would actually hurt the economy," Mikulski said. "Can you believe they decided to close up shop for the holidays, leave Washington, take care of themselves, without taking care of American families?" While the economy is showing signs of improvement, Mikulski said more than 3 million Americans have lost their jobs in the last three years. She called federal unemployment assistance that helps long-term jobless workers "an important bridge to bring them through the hard times, helping to pay bills and put food on the table." The program, started in March 2002, allowed for an additional 13 week of payments after normal benefits expired. It has been extended twice, but Republicans argued another extension was not needed because the economy is improving and unemployment is trending downward. Mikulski said extending the benefits would help the economy, because "when you put money in the hands of people who need it, they spend it. That's what you call an economic stimulus." © Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.