WASHINGTON — Key senators struck a bipartisan agreement Thursday to extend unemployment insurance for more than 2 million jobless Americans whose benefits have run out, though approval is not certain in the Republican-controlled House.
The proposal for a five-month continuation of benefits faces a likely filibuster by Tea Party conservatives in the Senate, pushing votes until later this month after Congress returns from a weeklong recess.
But with five Republican senators joining Democrats in Thursday’s agreement, passage in the Senate is expected. That would pressure House Speaker John A. Boener, R-Ohio, to take up the measure over the objections of hard-line Republicans who believe unemployment aid discourages work.
“Restoring this much-needed economic lifeline will help job seekers, boost our economy and provide a little certainty,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who brokered the deal with Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., two lawmakers whose states have the nation’s highest unemployment rates.