Federal unemployment benefits for more than 400,000 Californians are being reduced starting today, due to federal sequestration spending cuts.
Unemployed residents will receive an average of $52 less per week on their long-term benefits, which begin after week 26 of being unemployed.
President Obama criticized lawmakers in his weekend radio and internet address for helping the FAA but not federal employees, unemployed workers, seniors on Meals On Wheels and preschoolers in Head Start.
Air traffic controllers returned to work on Sunday after lawmakers rushed a bill through Congress to end sequester flight delays. But Obama warned the fix is a temporary Band-Aid.
“Maybe because they fly home each weekend, the members of Congress who insisted these cuts take hold finally realized that they actually apply to them, too,” Obama said.
The White House says the next cuts will impact the most vulnerable, including 70,000 children who get meals through the Head Start programs and nutrition programs for seniors and low-income women.
The federal government is scheduled to enact $85 billion in cuts across the nation.
