Unemployment benefit extension likely part of president’s jobs package

President Obama is set to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress Thursday night in which he will present a proposal to boost the economy and create jobs. This proposal will apparently include a call for another extension of federal unemployment benefits.

President Obama is likely to call on members of Congress to pass an extension of unemployment benefits, according to numerous reports…

Mr. Obama will reportedly call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This would be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, according to sources close to the White House. The president is expected to call for continuing a payroll tax cut for workers and jobless benefits for the unemployed. Some Republicans oppose extending the payroll tax cut, calling it an unproven job creator that will only add to the nation’s massive debt. The tax cut extension is set to expire at the end of the year.

A compromise between the White House and the Republican-controlled House at the end of last year extended federal unemployment benefits and the full Bush tax cuts through the end of 2011.