In his weekly address on Saturday, President Barack Obama called on Congress to make bipartisan legislation extending emergency unemployment insurance a top priority as lawmakers return to work in 2014.
“For a lot of people and a lot of families, this is their only income source,” said National Employment Law Project federal advocacy coordinator Judy Conti. “This could pull the rug out from under 1.3 million families,” she said. Without an extension, an additional 2 million will fall off the rolls in the first half of the year.