Roughly 1.3 million out-of-work Americans received a post-Christmas jolt as their unemployment insurance ended abruptly on Dec. 28 after Congress failed to renew it.

The Federal Emergency Unemployment Benefit Program was enacted during the financial crisis in 2008 and has been extended 11 times since. It provides up to 47 weeks of benefits for the jobless after they have depleted their unemployment benefits, which usually last around 26 weeks,

Upon returning to Washington in early January, the Democratic-led Senate passed a bill that would extend the benefits for three months. The White House supports the legislation, but House passage of even this temporary extension of benefits remains doubtful.

House Speaker John Boehner has said he would consider the extension only if it were paired with a plan for cuts elsewhere to offset the cost and if it were tied to Republican priorities such as building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expanding exemptions from the Affordable Care Act or opening energy exploration on federal land.

The long-term unemployed, meanwhile, suddenly have to cope without this financial lifeline.

Allison Gwyn, an out-of-work music teacher and actor in New York, said she had depended on unemployment benefits to cover her until she finds her next job. “I’m in trouble,” Gwyn said. “I’m in forbearance for my student loans. And I can cover this month’s rent, but I don’t know where next month’s is going to come from.”

The New York Times, Jan. 7
Business Week, Jan. 1