'I really think Sen. Paul really needs to look at the facts,' Levin says. | AP Photos Levin: Paul's 'disservice to humanity'

Rep. Sander Levin said Monday that Sen. Rand Paul’s position that extending unemployment benefits does a “disservice” to Americans looking for work is wrong, and said letting those benefits expire would be a “disservice to humanity.”

The Michigan Democrat was responding to a clip of an interview with the Kentucky Republican on “Fox News Sunday,” where Paul said continuing unemployment benefits after 26 weeks does “a disservice to these workers.”


“I really think Sen. Paul really needs to look at the facts and then look at the reality for people who are unemployed,” Levin said on MSNBC’s “NewsNation” on Monday. “There are 1.3 million people who are going to lose every cent of their benefits while they look for work. A disservice is essentially cutting them off on Dec. 28,” when the emergency unemployment program expires.

Levin said if Paul is suggesting letting benefits run out, that is the true disservice.

“They are looking for a job. They were laid off through no fault of their own. What do you do? Just give them the cold shoulder on Dec. 28? That’s a disservice to humanity, in my judgment,” Levin said.

The House Ways and Means Committee ranking member said extending the benefits should be a “line in the sand” for Congress to accomplish before leaving town for the holidays, but that it doesn’t necessarily have to be part of a budget deal.

“It has to be done one way or the other, either through the budget negotiations or through another vehicle,” Levin said. “You really don’t want the wheels to come off in terms of the basic necessities for 1.3 million people, and next year if we don’t do it, it would be another 1.9 million people and their children, 20,000 veterans. We can’t leave here leaving them out in the cold.”