WASHINGTON (AP) -- A House vote today is expected to send President Barack Obama a long-sought measure to resume unemployment payments to millions of people whose benefits have lapsed.
Obama is set to sign the bill as soon as Congress can ship it to him. The Senate broke through months of stalemate in passing the measure yesterday by a 59-39 vote. The House plans to vote around midday.
Some 2.5 million people who have been out of work for six months or more and have seen their jobless benefits lapse would receive back payments within a few weeks.
Under best-case scenarios, unemployed people who have been denied jobless benefits because of the partisan Senate standoff can expect retroactive payments as early as next week in some states.
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