There is no assurance that Congress will act on it quickly, but a bill extending unemployment benefits through 2010 has now been introduced in the U.S. House. Yesterday, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), the chief House sponsor of the jobless insurance extension signed into law last month, officially offered H.R. 4183. If approved this month, the bill would push back (from December 31, 2009 until March 31, 2011) the eligibility deadline for those who have exhausted their benefits, thus protecting millions of unemployed Americans scheduled to lose their jobless benefits in the first few months of 2010. It would also offer a fix to the deadline glitch that prevents anyone in high-unemployment states from collecting an additional six weeks of insurance as part of H.R. 3548 (the extension passed this fall).

Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky is a co-sponsor of the $100 billion measure, which could be rolled up into the larger jobs bill currently being crafted by the Democratic leadership. According to The Hill, the estimated cost of the total package could be about $300 billion, including a boost in state aid ($75 billion), an increase in Small Business Administration loans ($20 billion), a tax credit for expanding businesses ($27 billion), the implementation of a limited work-share program ($600 million), and some added infrastructure spending.