Unemployment cutoffs loom

A new report from five Democratic members of Congress shows that, if federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation ends — and it looks likely — more than 12,000 unemployed workers in the central Puget Sound area will lose their unemployment benefits on Dec. 28. At the state level, some 24,000 people will suffer the same fate on the 28th; another 37,000 will see their unemployment benefits disappear during the first six months of 2014. The five Dems (Jim McDermott, Suzan DelBene, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer and Rick Larsen) want Congress to extend emergency unemployment payments. They argue that due to the weak recovery there are still fewer jobs than before the recession began. The emergency compensation provides up to 43 weeks of unemployment payments; without the program, most benefits end in 13 to 26 weeks. The five Dems blame House Republican leaders for blocking the extension; the extension of benefits was not included in the recent bipartisan budget deal. (Washington's  sixth Democratic congressman, Adam Smith, didn't join his colleagues on this one.)