Two million Americans are about to run out of extended unemployment benefits next month if Congress fails to act soon. The deadline to file for the extended federal unemployment benefits expires on November 30.
Federal jobless payments are made after the states' 26 weeks of unemployment coverage expires and last up to 73 weeks.
When the deadline expired at the end of May, it took lawmakers nearly two months to pass an extension until November 30. The six-month extension cost an estimated $34 billion.
Another extension could be even more difficult to pass now that the Republicans have won control of the House and gained seats in the Senate, although the transfer of power doesn't happen until next year. Congress will have to act as soon as they return from vacation on November 15 to beat the November 30 deadline.
If Congress fails to act in time, some 800,000 of the two million jobless impacted will lose their checks by December 4 with the rest to lose their checks throughout the rest of the month.
President Obama wants the deadline extended because the jobless put the money right back into the economy by shopping for groceries and essentials.
So far this year, nearly 9.5 million unemployed Americans have collected federally funded benefits, which average $290 a week. Almost 15 million people are unemployed. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities say jobless benefits have kept an estimated 3.3 million people out of poverty.
