1.3 million jobless to lose benefits in US

More than 1.3 million Americans will lose their unemployment benefits on December 28 as a budget deal proposal in Congress fails to extend the federal program.
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program is not included into the budget deal that would likely pass the Senate this week.
Senate Democrats have admitted that they would miss the deadline to extend the benefits and Senate Republicans have not paid attention to the issue at all.
However, critics of the program charge that the US government has exacerbated the problem of long-term unemployment in the country by providing a disincentive for the jobless.