Wisconsin, Walker and the legislature lost 20 weeks of federal unemployment benefits by not trying.

The details on this are few, but here's what I have discovered so far:

Slate: Why are governments across the country starting to kick the support out from under the chairs of the jobless? For all the other states cutting back, the issue is inaction, rather than fiscal pressure. Some states needed to make a certain simple legislative fix to ensure that the federal government kept on kicking in its share of weeks of benefits—weeks of benefits already budgeted and paid for in Washington. A number of states failed to do so. So, on April 16, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin all lost 20 weeks of federal benefits, effective immediately. Missouri did on April 2 as well.

Not only did the state lose the extended unemployment benefits, but they may also be on their way to raiding those lost benefits to pay for other things. You won’t believe this:

This week, House Republicans introduced a bill that effectively encourages states to whittle back their unemployment insurance systems. The legislation—written by Rep. Dave Camp (Mich.), gives states the option of using federal unemployment-benefit dollars for other job creation programs. 

This jaw dropping robbery of jobless families is not getting the coverage it should. Just to have someone come up with an scheme like this is unthinkable. This last line is not to be forgotten.

If some states, perhaps following Michigan's example, cut benefits and use federal dollars to repay loans rather than provide weeks of aid, it could take billions from jobless Americans' pockets.

I’ve seen and covered a lot, but this is unspeakably cruel.