Advocates Renew Push to Keep Unemployment Benefits
Source: Roll Call
As the deadline for avoiding the fiscal cliff draws ever nearer, advocates for out-of-work Americans have redoubled their push to make sure unemployment benefits dont expire for 2 million workers Dec. 29.
The campaign is the centerpiece of a multi-part agenda that the National Employment Law Project, which advocates on behalf of low-income and unemployed workers, released Wednesday.
The groups 100-day policy agenda for Congress and the Obama administration also includes establishing federal minimum wage and overtime standards for home health care workers, investing $250 billion annually in infrastructure projects over five years, strengthening worker health and safety protections and raising the minimum wage for all workers.
While some items, such as a minimum wage hike, would face stiff GOP resistance on Capitol Hill, others may soon prove within reach. These include extending soon-to-expire unemployment benefits for one year, which is front and center on NELPs agenda. The group is spearheading a lobbying campaign to extend the benefits with a coalition of progressive organizations, from labor to womens and religious groups.
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