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President Barack Obama and Democrats will make a major push when Congress returns January 6 to renew expired benefits for the unemployed and will seek to pressure Republicans over the issue by painting them as uncaring toward the middle class.
Federal unemployment benefits will officially expire for 1.3 million out-of-work Americans on Saturday. With Congress in recess, no last-minute fix is possible.
Democrats have spent much of the holiday week criticising Republicans for resisting an extension of the emergency jobless aid program, which began in 2008 under President George W. Bush and has been extended every year since then.
The federal benefits kick in once people exhaust their state jobless benefits, which end in many states after 26 weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has vowed to make an extension of the benefits the top issue in his chamber when Congress returns on January 6.
The issue is part of an economic agenda aimed at winning support from middle-class Americans. Along with the push for an extension of unemployment insurance, Democrats will also push for an increase in the minimum wage.
