17K to lose jobless benefits in Indiana on Monday

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It may be a game of political chicken money that millions of Americans are using to survive is at stake.

Right now, the unemployment rate in Indiana is 9.9%. But, efforts to extend unemployment benefits have hit a wall. And if Congress doesn’t take action by Sunday, there won't be money available for thousands of jobless Hoosiers on Monday.

Marc Lotter of the Indiana Workforce Development explains the situation saying "Right now we anticipate about 17,000 Hoosiers per week would exhaust their benefits each week beginning next week, if these federal extensions are not continued." Those benefits can make a big difference to any one of the 300,000 Hoosiers out of work.

Ruby Harper is an unemployed Hoosier. "Right now they are extremely important. It's the only income I have to rely on."

Unemployment in Indiana is on a six tier system in Indiana that’s based on how long you've collected benefits.

Everyone is eligible to be paid for 26 weeks by the state. Those benefits are not at risk at all. But. Weeks 27 through 99 are extended benefits, divided into five separate tiers of varying lengths, paid for by the Federal Government--those benefits that are at risk.

"The folks who are collecting would be able to collect all of the weeks they have remaining on their unemployment tier right now. The one of the six tiers. But they would not roll on to the next level of benefits," Lotter said.

The benefits extension is bottlenecked in the U.S. Senate. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of extending the extensions is $6.8 billion in 2010, a tough pill to swallow for some senators. Included in that sum is the cost of extending COBRA subsidies, which helps pay healthcare costs for those who lose their jobs, but stay on company insurance plans.

Senators can debate the pros and cons of extending the benefits, but Hoosiers like Craig Myers, who have used them, say they are crucial.

"You've got to survive. You've got to put food on the table. You've got to pay for what insurance you can," says Myers.

If Congress passes an extension by Saturday, there will be no interruption of benefits.

Remember, you will continue to get unemployment insurance until you have reached the end of your current tier. And anyone who has just lost a job is not affected until after they've exhausted their first 26 weeks of benefits.