12/17/13 - Nearly 600 Livingston County residents would lose their unemployment insurance before the New Year if Congress fails to extend the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. Thatâs according to statistics released Monday by Michiganâs Democratic U.S. Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow. The county-by-county breakdown, which uses figures provided by the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs, shows 584 Livingston residents would immediately lose all of their unemployment insurance December 28th if no re-authorization is made. That ranks Livingston County 15th among the stateâs 82 counties in terms of the number of residents that would be affected by the cut-off. Levin and Stabenow say that overall, more than 43,000 people in Michigan are set to lose their insurance coverage immediately with an additional 86,500 people losing their coverage in the first six months of 2014 if an extension of the program is not granted. Congressional Republicans, who have opposed the extension, say the money to pay for the additional benefits isnât available in the recent budget compromise reached between both parties to avoid a government shutdown. Theyâve also said such long-term benefits can be a disincentive for people to seek employment. But the reportâs authors say that according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers, failure to extend federal unemployment insurance would cost the economy 240,000 jobs, 8,450 of them in Michigan. The House has already missed the deadline for avoiding a lapse in unemployment benefits before the end of the year, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has indicated that reinstating the issue will be at the top of the agenda when the Senate reconvenes next year. (JK)
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