It's difficult to reach bipartisan consensus in Washington these days, but extending unemployment benefits for the nation's workforce is one issue on which Republicans and Democrats seem to agree. A measure offering additional jobless insurance to people in states with unemployment rates at or above 8.5 percent flew through the House in late September and the Senate is expected to take up a similar effort (S. 1647) in the next few days.  On ABC's This Week, Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Republican John Cornyn (R-TX) both agreed yesterday that a UI extension (along with extensions of COBRA benefits and the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers) was necessary to, in Schumer's words, "deal with the pain of people's unemployment now." Even Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan -- not a liberal by any measure -- told host George Stephanopoulos on the same program that, while he's skeptical of a second stimulus package, extending jobless benefits could help prevent an "erosion" of skills in workers who experience prolonged unemployment. Watch it:

Now it's up to lawmakers to hash out what the extension will look like. Currently, there is a split within the Democratic caucus between legislators that favor a plan similar to the House version and those that want to see an extension for workers in all 50 states. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is spearheading efforts to broaden the scope of the bill; according to the Detroit News, she will introduce an amendment to give all states 13 weeks of extra unemployment benefits, plus an additional four weeks for the hard-hit states currently targeted, paid for by redirecting interest and dividends received from banks in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-ND) reportedly prefer a compromise that inverts Shaheen's amendment: four extra weeks for all states, plus 13 additional weeks for the 27 states at or above 8.5 percent. We'll have to wait and see which side wins out.

Meanwhile, ABC is gathering stories of people who are struggling to find work. If you're one of the hundreds of readers who have shared his or her experience in our own comments section, head over to their site as well.