Update: COBRA’s extinction will add millions to rolls of uninsured

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will renew his effort to win Congress’ approval for extending unemployment benefits, including COBRA.

Harry Reid

Reid (D-Nevada) called the extension “long overdue,” according to Market News International.

Congress returned July 12 from its Fourth of July recess, giving Reid the opportunity to introduce a new measure to restore the benefits. An estimated 2 million people have had their unemployment insurance coverage lapse, according to the report.

Reid said the restoration of those benefits would help bolster the economy and fuel job growth.

It remains unclear, according to the report, whether Reid would include unemployment benefits as part of a bigger piece of legislation or by itself.

Recent efforts to pass an extension have been derailed by Republicans, who continue to thwart efforts to spend against the growing federal deficit.

Last month, a bill to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits to Nov. 30 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to the introduction of the stand-alone House legislation, a Senate vote for an extension failed.