WASHINGTON — “Jingle bells, Congress smells, Republicans laid an egg,” sang a group of otherwise jubilant carolers outside House Speaker John Boehner’s Capitol Hill home Wednesday night.
The crowd of about 50 unemployed D.C. residents swarmed the quiet residential street, candles and lyrics in hand.
“Oh what fun it would be if the sick could afford their meds,” they bellowed.
They also carried holiday themed signs that read “Boehner stole Christmas,” “Boehner – jobs of Christmas present” and “Scrooge Boehner, we need jobs.”
Despite a jovial mood, the protest — organized by Our DC — had a very serious message for the Ohio representative: Keep unemployment benefits.
“D.C. residents need jobless benefits extended with no strings attached,” Our DC said in a news release. “Working residents need to keep payroll taxes in our pockets.”
The unemployment extension bill sponsored by Boehner will eliminate benefits for nearly 15,000 District residents, they say.
In states with high or rising unemployment, the ceiling on federal and state benefits combined is now 99 weeks. The Republican-led House has passed a bill that extends the coverage but gradually reduces it by 20 weeks by mid-2012.
An improving job market could reduce eligibility for extended benefits by another 20 weeks in some of those states, making the new effective ceiling 59 weeks.
Conservatives argue that prolonging government assistance to the unemployed can discourage active job searching so long as it lasts, keeping jobless rates higher than they would be if aid were ended.
Supporters of a full new extension argue that these are unusually dire times and that jobs are harder to find than after run-of-the-mill recessions. Therefore, additional aid is warranted and can contribute directly to economic growth, they say.
“I’ve been out of work since October,” said Dominique Lawrence, a resident of Ward 8. “This Christmas I won’t be able to give my kids the presents they deserve and it just kills me.”
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