Carolyn Maloney: “The Joint Economic Committee released a report this week which shows the staggering cost to the government of failing to…”

“The Joint Economic Committee released a report this week which shows the staggering cost to the government of failing to extend unemployment benefits. The report focuses on unemployed disabled workers. By the end of 2010, the JEC estimates that 290,000 unemployed disabled workers will exhaust their unemployment benefits. Without extension of unemployment benefits, the JEC estimates that two-thirds of these workers will leave the labor force and move on to Social Security disability insurance. Shifting these workers from the labor market and onto the SSDI rolls--the cost of inaction--is a $24.2 billion lifetime cost. By contrast, extending unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA premium benefits is $721 million in 2010. Not only is an extension of unemployment benefits the morally right thing to do; it is fiscally responsible, saving the government over $23 billion.”