Uncertainty grows for jobless after Senate fails to extend unemployment benefits

ELKHART — Nerves are stretched thin among unemployed Americans, after news that a U.S. Senate vote to extend unemployment benefits failed again on Friday. Now, the clock is ticking to find a solution before millions of unemployment checks are cut off. If senators don't take action by midnight Saturday, unemployment benefits will expire for more than 1 million people out of work. Indiana Department of Workforce Development spokesman Marc Lotter says that includes more than 17,000 unemployed in Indiana, who could see their unemployment checks simply stop on Monday morning. People in Indiana can receive up to 99 weeks of benefits; 26 of them from the state and the rest through federal extensions. About 250,000 people in Indiana are receiving benefits now. The federal benefits are part of a larger package of government programs, from highway funding to loans for small businesses, set to expire Sunday. House lawmakers passed a bill Thursday extending the programs for one month while lawmakers consider how to address the issues long-term. Senate Democrats repeatedly tried to follow suit Thursday night and Friday morning, but couldn't overcome the objections of a single lawmaker--Republican Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky. He told lawmakers that the $10 billion bill would add to the budget deficit. With most senators already home for the weekend, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) tried Friday to pass the measure on a voice vote, which can be blocked by the objection of a single senator. Bunning promptly objected again, as he had on Thursday. "Everybody in this chamber wants to extend unemployment benefits, COBRA health care benefits," Bunning said Friday. "But, if we can't find $10 billion somewhere for a bill that everybody in this body supports, we will never pay for anything." The inaction left millions of Americans without a job wondering what happens next, and when their next unemployment benefit might be received. Glenda Green, of Elkhart, is one of them. For the last 14 months, she's been on a financial diet. "I've been borrowing from here, borrowing from there, just trying to make ends meet," she said. "And, heaven forbid, illness or injury or car repair or something comes up. I'm just one catastrophe from not being able to make the house payment or utilities of something like that." Last year, Green was laid off from her job in the financial industry after company investments went south. "I thought I had a secure job. But, they had to do company-wide downsizing. And, there went my security," she said. "Thankfully, I had savings, and I now have part-time work at Heine's [restaurant] to supplement my unemployment. So, I'm still paying the bills. But, the savings is getting down there. Thank goodness I haven't hit my extensions yet," Green continued. But, with just one eight hour, part time shift per week left, anxiety is growing--made even worse by the news Friday that unemployment benefits could soon be in limbo for more than 1 million Americans who hit the end of their extensions this weekend. "I think we're in a really contentious moment in our history," said Indiana University-South Bend Labor Studies Professor Dr. Paul Mishler. "It would only take two weeks without a paycheck for most Americans to be in deep, deep trouble. And, we're looking at 38,000 people losing their benefits next week in Indiana alone." Without a quick fix, Mishler says the pain will be even more widespread. "People in our neighborhoods, our communities, our cities are not just going to be hurt for a couple of days. They're going to become poor. And, that poverty is going to last," he said. And it's not just those out of work who will feel the impact, Mishler added. "At a very basic level, they won't buy anything," he said. "So, the corner store where they used to buy their milk and groceries goes out of business because no one is shopping there. And, there are also real costs associated with accelerated poverty. The people next door to you, say, have their home foreclosed. Then, it's abandoned and starts to fall down. What happens to your housing value?" It's a ripple effect Mishler says the country can't afford--particularly as the nation tries to crawl out of a recession. "It's demoralization. And, the problem with demoralization is that is has ripple effects on society. What happens on Main Street is the most important thing to the health of society. So, we all end up paying one way or another," Mishler said. The dispute leaves some unemployment programs in limbo as the Senate struggles to overcome partisan bickering over a budget deficit projected to hit a record $1.56 trillion this year, a jobless rate just under 10 percent and congressional elections looming in November. The cutoff wouldn't affect most people already receiving extended benefits, Maurice Emsellem of the National Employment Law Project told the Associated Press. Instead, people seeking to obtain benefit extensions would not be able to obtain them. It's also an administrative nightmare for state labor departments. But, it's a very real nightmare for those receiving unemployment compensation like Green. "I'd be filing [on] Sunday, and my next check would be coming on Monday," she said. At least, for now. "I've applied for close to 400 jobs now," Green said. "I have a college degree in business management. I've always landed on my feet, no matter what happens, and I know there's something out there. But, it does make me nervous, yes, it does." It's likely those nerves will continue-- at least through the weekend. The Senate doesn't have any roll-call votes scheduled before Tuesday, though Democratic leaders said they would continue trying to persuade Bunning to lift his objection, allowing the bill to pass without a recorded vote. To avoid an interruption in benefits, senators would have to act quickly when they return, a task made difficult by Senate rules that let a single senator slow the process. Bunning vowed to fight the extensions as long as they add to the deficit, though he acknowledged they likely will pass eventually. The Associated Press contributed to this report.