Nearly 15 million Americans are struggling to find work. More and more of them exhaust their unemployment benefits each day. Businesses of all sizes are struggling to stay afloat. The last thing we need at this point is to allow thousands of jobs to disappear in a single day. Yet unless Congress acts to extend the TANF Emergency Fund before Thursday, that is exactly what will happen.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund has provided work for more than 250,000 unemployed individuals in 37 states, including Hawaii, putting people back to work while giving struggling businesses a much-needed boost during these tough times.

In Hawaii, it has funded many jobs with private businesses, nonprofit organizations and city and state government agencies. The workers who are hired through the program gain job skills and experience while earning wages to support their families. A win-win for business and unemployed workers alike, the program has provided exactly the boost the citizens of Hawaii need to weather this painfully slow economic recovery.

Unfortunately, the TANF Emergency Fund is slated to end Sept. 30. In order for our program in Hawaii and similar programs around the country to continue, Congress must act to extend the TANF Emergency Fund.

While the U.S. House of Representatives has twice passed legislation to extend the TANF Emergency Fund, the Senate has yet to act. Without an extension by Congress, thousands of workers in Hawaii are at risk of losing their jobs Thursday. We cannot afford a surge in the nation’s already near-historically high unemployment rate.

Democrats and Republicans alike know that keeping people working is far better for our economy and for our local communities than pushing people into unemployment again. Hawaii and many other communities have leveraged TANF Emergency Fund dollars to put people back to work, exactly as intended. This is a federal stimulus program that works.

Time is running out. Sept. 30 is just around the corner. The Senate must act quickly to extend the TANF Emergency Fund to ensure that employers in Hawaii can keep their workers, workers can keep their jobs, and successful job programs can continue putting people back to work around the country. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye is in a unique position to help secure the continuation of this program that is vital to so many here in our state.