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Who's Hurt Most? Bunning's Filibuster Affects More Than 400,000

Christina Bellantoni | March 2, 2010, 9:26AM

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)

Hilda Solis, Jim Bunning, Labor, Obstructionism, Unemployment

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The Department of Labor calculates that 400,000 people will lose unemployment benefits if the Senate isn't able to break Sen. Jim Bunning's blockade of a measure that would extend the benefits.

The Labor tally says Bunning has "blocked the process each time" and Secretary Hilda Solis complained that "[t]he consequences of partisan obstructionism could not be clearer."

"If the extension is not approved immediately, millions of Americans could lose the safety net programs they deserve and desperately need," she said.

The White House sent the state-by-state totals to regional reporters last night. Bunning's Kentucky is at the low end, with 4,300 people affected. Florida has one of the higher totals of 49,000, as a result of Congress not extending jobless benefits.

Here's the Labor Department's tally of the projected number of people losing their unemployment insurance by state for the week ending March 13:

Alabama 3,600 -- Alaska 0 -- Arizona 8,300 -- Arkansas 5,200

California 0 -- Colorado 9,000 -- Connecticut 0

District of Columbia 600 -- Delaware 2,100

Florida 49,600

Georgia 41,000

Hawaii 1,600

Idaho 0 -- Illinois 28,200 -- Indiana 16,100 -- Iowa 4,600

Kansas 0 - -Kentucky 4,300

Louisiana 4,300

Maine 2,200 -- Maryland 4,700 -- Massachusetts 0 -- Michigan 0 -- Minnesota 0 -- Mississippi 2,700 -- Missouri 8,700 -- Montana 0

Nebraska 1,300 -- Nevada 0 -- New Hampshire 0 -- New Jersey 0 -- New Mexico 0 -- New York 54,300 -- North Carolina 0 -- North Dakota 500

Ohio 16,200 -- Oklahoma 4,600 -- Oregon 0

Pennsylvania 0 -- Puerto Rico 0

Rhode Island 0

South Carolina 14,400 -- South Dakota 300

Tennessee 7,500 -- Texas 27,400

Utah 2,700

Vermont 0 -- Virgin Islands 100 -- Virginia 10,700

Washington 0 -- Wisconsin 0 -- West Virginia 2,600 -- Wyoming 900

From the release:

If Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding for the Extended Benefit program are not extended, 400,000 Americans will lose unemployment benefits during the first weeks in March. By May, nearly 3 million people could be left without these benefits. Furthermore, if the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not extended, thousands of families will lose access to affordable health care.
If the extension is not approved, an estimated 500,000 workers who lose their jobs will be ineligible for subsidies to cover the cost of health care over this month. Over the rest of 2010, an estimated 5 million workers will be ineligible for the Recovery Act COBRA subsidy that covers 65 percent of the cost of coverage. Without this assistance, many of these families will be forced to join the ranks of the uninsured.

...

Without an extension, the number of Americans who lose unemployment insurance benefits will increase to 1.5 million within a month. Within two months, nearly 3 million Americans will have lost their benefits. Even if Congress acts down the road to retroactively reinstate UI benefits, a gap in the program forces administrative burdens onto states, which may cause significant delays in getting checks to unemployed individuals.