Kay Hagan: “at the end of this year, 1.3 million Americans will be cut off from their Federal unemployment benefits. At the hardest…”

“at the end of this year, 1.3 million Americans will be cut off from their Federal unemployment benefits. At the hardest time of the year, 1.3 million people will lose the lifeline they have relied on to support their families while they struggle to find jobs in this challenging economic climate. Unfortunately, for 170,000 North Carolinians, this has already been a reality. Earlier this year, the North Carolina General Assembly slashed unemployment benefits, making North Carolina the only State in the Nation to actually stop receiving Federal emergency unemployment insurance--the only State in the Nation. This irresponsible and cold- hearted action by the general assembly has been devastating to the thousands of individuals and families across my State who are already struggling to make ends meet. Sydney Houston is one of 170,000 jobless North Carolinians who would have received Federal unemployment benefits were it not for this new State law. A month after the law was enacted and Sydney no longer had her benefits, she told a North Carolina TV station that she was ironing her clothes in preparation for a job interview when her electricity was cut off because she couldn't pay her bills. ``It's been excruciating,'' she said, adding that she feared her landlord knocking on her door to evict her at any moment.…”