Congress must ensure unemployment benefits deal

People in unemployment line at DES office in Tucson.

TUCSON -- I've asked our US Reps from SoAZ to ensure Arizonans will qualify fully for needed extended unemployment benefits.

From Phoenix NBC 12 News, Nov 19: The jobless benefits extension that Congress passed and the president signed more than two weeks ago was supposed to be a lifeline for tens of thousands of unemployed people in Arizona.

But state and national experts on jobless benefits say that emergency extension doesn't go nearly as far as promised. At this writing, none of the more than 65,000 people in Arizona eligible for the 20-week extension will get it.

Apparently, many members of Congress never realized the law expires before all 20 weeks of extended benefits can be used. Read the full story.

I'm hopeful and confident Congress will fix this soon as people desperately need this help during a bad economy and continued job losses.