Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, says unemployment benefits are a ... more >“There is no form of government help that is more beneficial to the economy in the near term,” Mr. Zandi said.
Congressional leaders, meanwhile, have been tight-lipped about whether they plan to stretch the program another year or how they might pay for it.
Asked whether House Speaker John A. Boehner opposed an extension, spokesman Michael Steel said, “I don’t know that this has been discussed at this point.”
Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the Kentucky Republican is “not really negotiating in the press, so it’s hard for me to answer such questions.”
The offices of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California did not respond to inquiries.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Seth McLaughlin, a reporter on the Politics Desk, can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SethMcLaughlin1
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