More than 20,000 Connecticut residents were affected when federal unemployment insurance benefits expired on Saturday and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling on Congress to extend them.
The benefits expired after a Congressional budget that did not include an extension passed last week.
Connecticut's unemployment rate is around 7.6 percent and Blumenthal said something needs to be done to help the long-term unemployed in our state.
While some call the benefits a driver and a lifeline for the economy, not everyone on Capitol Hill agrees.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, said the longer someone remains unemployed, the less likely they are to get back to work.
Blumenthal said a bipartisan bill would extend unemployment benefits for three months, at a cost of $6.5 billion, but some House Republicans are opposed to that cost and want a plan in place that would offset it.
