The U.S. Labor Department said 1,600 Hawai'i residents are among thousands of Americans who could lose their unemployment benefits in the coming days if Congress fails to act.

The benefits are part of a larger package of government programs that are expiring Sunday because senators couldn't agree on how to pay to keep them going.

However, the Senate's second-ranking Republican leader says he expects GOP lawmakers will vote to extend unemployment benefits, derailing a fellow Republican's objections.

Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona says the extension will pass, but only because it's temporary. Kyl told "Fox News Sunday" that a longer-term extension will cost much more — and Congress must find a way to pay for it before Republicans will go along.

HEALTH CARE COMPANY REBRANDS ITSELF

Hawaii Healthcare Professionals Inc. has rebranded itself as Hawaii Professional HomeCare.

The company offers a full range of home health care services, and is licensed with the state for Medicare and Medicaid. It has offices on O'ahu, Maui and Kaua'i.

Hawaii Professional HomeCare also provides Lifeline, an emergency call system designed to reduce the risk of living alone.

Its newest service, tele-homecare, which rolled out in mid-2009, is a two-part system that allows patients to receive daily health care monitoring.

HAWAI'I 9TH IN FUNDS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

Hawai'i ranks ninth among the 50 states in the amount of federal funding received from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a new study

The study released yesterday by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found Hawai'i received $34.6 million, or $26.78 per person, in fiscal 2009 to support state disease and injury prevention programs.

Federal funding that goes to states for public health varies significantly from state to state, from a low of $13.33 per person in Virginia to a high of $58.65 in Alaska.

The report said overall federal spending for public health has been virtually flat for nearly five years, at about $19.23 per person, and hasn't been increased to keep pace with inflation.