Gridlock in Congress could leave millions hurting over the holidays

Congress, with few workdays left, shows no signs of settling partisan disputes over unemployment benefits, food stamps, a farm bill and the budget.

WASHINGTON — Congress' unfinished business threatens to leave millions of Americans — including the unemployed, Pentagon contractors and even supermarket shoppers — in the lurch this holiday season.

With partisan dysfunction unlikely to subside in coming weeks, lawmakers appear ready to punt several issues into the new year. But many Americans could start feeling the effects of inaction as early as this month.

An estimated 1.3 million Americans will lose federal emergency unemployment benefits after Christmas if the program is not renewed. Federal aid kicks in after state benefits run out, typically after six months of unemployment.

On Monday, Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan stood in a nearly empty House chamber with a poster of a countdown clock ticking away the days until the emergency jobless aid expires.

"Twenty-five days and 10 hours," said the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee. "Who are they? They are Americans laid off through no fault of their own, struggling to find jobs and recover from the worst economic crisis in 70 years."

With days left before Congress adjourns for the year, his bill to extend the benefits has not even had a hearing and is not scheduled to get a vote.

Congress' failure to renew a multiyear farm bill — considered crucial to the agricultural industry — poses a two-pronged problem.

Without action, milk prices are set to skyrocket in the new year because the legislation plays a role in how some commodities are priced. It could drive the price of a gallon of milk above $8, from about $3.50 today, according to some estimates.

But if Congress does reach agreement, it would almost certainly result in cuts to food stamps, kicking up to 4 million Americans off the program under the House Republicans' version of the bill.

On Monday, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) announced four more Obamacare oversight hearings this week as Republicans continue their relentless assault on the new healthcare law.

"I think the House, especially, has become a totally dysfunctional place when it comes to doing the business of the American people," Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said Monday on MSNBC.