Unemployment insurance extension sought by Obama from Congress

Unemployment Insurance extension

The president also said that he likes the deal in the proposed congressional budget.

United States President Barack Obama has said that while he does like the congressional budget deal that has been proposed, he is also hoping that Congress will allow an extension to unemployment insurance, which is rapidly closing in on its expiry date.

The president made a number of statements of this sort when he met with a group of newly elected mayors.

Unemployment InsuranceHe spoke with the mayors from cities across the country on the subject of the soon to expire unemployment insurance, stating that “You’ve potentially 1.3 million people who, during Christmastime, are going to lose their unemployment benefits, at a time when it’s still very difficult for a lot of folks to find a job.” He also went on to state that it isn’t just hard on the individuals who are seeking work and on their families, but that it also takes a considerable toll on the economy, which has a direct impact on the health of the cities.

Obama is hoping that Congress will now look to unemployment insurance now that its budget agreement was approved.

At the end of last week, the House gave its approval to a two year budget agreement. It is expected that the Senate will be voting on it this week. Should this two year plan be approved by the Senate, as well, the president feels that it will help to avoid the “constant brinksmanship and crisis governance,” that the country has been watching in Washington D.C. time and time again and that “impedes growth and makes businesses and investors less certain about wanting to put their money in.”

He explained that the budget is something that can be done by the federal government that can then be used by mayors to be able to enhance job creation in their cities. This was the center focus of the meeting that Obama held with these newly elected city mayors. He also spoke about an increase to minimum wage, stating that it would help to provide cities with a considerable boost, as these are locations where there are a large number of service workers. This would also help to ease the problem of unemployment insurance in the longer term, as he works on that goal over the short term.

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