Unemployment Benefits, Spending Bill | featured news

Congressional negotiators reached agreement Thursday on a compromise spending bill to avert a weekend federal shutdown. They also worked toward a deal renewing the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another year but prepared a shorter version as a fallback in case talks fell short.

The House of Representatives passed a temporary extension of unemployment benefits and subsidized health insurance for laid-off workers on Wednesday as part of a $636 defense spending bill. The Senate will likely pass its defense bill with the same extensions on Friday, according to a Senate Democratic aide.