Photo courtesy of LendingMemo

Late last week, Senate lawmakers failed to reach an agreement to restore jobless aid to 1.7 million unemployed workers. The Senate voted 58-40 Thursday on a proposal that would have reinstated unemployment insurance benefits through the end of March, just two votes shy of the 60 votes needed to end debate on the bill.

Sluggish Job Growth Makes Restoring Benefits Even More Critical

Meanwhile, last Friday’s job numbers showed that the economy added just 113,000 jobs in January, a very disappointing follow-up to December, when only 75,000 jobs were added.  And long-term unemployment remains a pervasive issue, with more than a third of unemployed workers – nearly 3.7 million people – out of work for 6 months or longer. 

Congress leaves Washington again this week for a two-week recess. Let's hope they restore unemployment insurance before they leave town.