House may extend unemployment benefits

Congress has already voted twice to extend benefits, yet it is estimated that 400,000 people will lose their unemployment benefits by the end of the month and 1.4 million by the end of the year. Beth Shulman, Chair of the National Employment Law Project hit the nail on the head when she stated, "Now is not the moment to pull the plug on America's jobless workers or to deal a body blow to the nation's nascent economic recovery."

To lose these benefits would definitely have a major impact on the current economic situation. Remember that unemployment benefits allow people to buy the necessities -- which are what is helping our economic recovery. Should these people lose their benefits, retail will suffer, which would lead to lower sales, and then eventually lower earnings. There is no way that Congress should cut off unemployment benefits, mainly because these benefits are needed.

As Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan noted, "Employment lags behind economic recovery, and we cannot forget that help for unemployed workers and their families remains a critical need."