WASHINGTON — Democrats continued on Sunday to argue for restoring long-term unemployment insurance for more than a million Americans who are out of work, days after the benefits lapsed, as lawmakers prepared to return from their recess.

Gene B. Sperling, President Obama’s top economic adviser, said the program was critical to addressing the lingering issue of unemployment, providing emergency assistance for 1.3 million people who are still looking for work.

“That requires a full-court press,” he said on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “It does require more bipartisan effort to create jobs.”

Appearing on two Sunday talk shows, Mr. Sperling continued the Obama administration’s push to restore the support system that provides up to 47 weeks of supplemental payments for unemployed Americans who are still looking for jobs, a program that had been in place since 2008 until it expired last month.