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The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that unemployment benefits would run out for 4,300 Kentuckians during the week of March 13 if Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding for the Extended Benefit program are not extended.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to temporarily extend benefits - including unemployment insurance. But in the Senate chamber, Sen Jim Bunning of Kentucky is blocking the bill, saying the extension should be funded through existing allocations instead of borrowing additional funds.

"I have offered the same COBRA, flood insurance, unemployment insurance, Satellite Home Viewing Act, highway funding, SBA loans, small business provisions--I have offered to do the same thing for the same amount of time. The only difference I have, and some of my good friends from the other side of the aisle, is that I believe we should pay for it," Bunning said.

The Labor Department released state-by-state figures Tuesday on the number of individuals who will lose their unemployment benefits in the coming days if Congress fails to extend unemployment insurance benefits.

If Emergency Unemployment Compensation and full federal funding for the Extended Benefit program are not extended, the Labor Department says 400,000 Americans will lose unemployment benefits during the first weeks in March. By May, nearly 3 million people could be left without these benefits. Furthermore, if the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act subsidy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is not extended, thousands of families will lose access to affordable health care.

If the extension is not approved, the Labor Department estimastes 500,000 workers who lose their jobs will be ineligible for subsidies to cover the cost of health care over this month. Over the rest of 2010, an estimated 5 million workers will be ineligible for the Recovery Act COBRA subsidy that covers 65 percent of the cost of coverage.

"It is essential that Congress extend the unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidy programs that are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The consequences of partisan obstructionism could not be clearer. If the extension is not approved immediately, millions of Americans could lose the safety net programs they deserve and desperately need."

For the complete state-by-state breakdown, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Web site.

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