This holiday season will be bleak for two million people relying on unemployment benefits that may soon run out if Congress doesn’t renew them. According to the Associated Press Congress must decide whether to renew unemployment insurance, a benefit that gives nearly five million people who  haven’t worked in more than six months about $310 a week. The extension that Congress granted this summer is set to expire December first.

A bill that would extend them for three months failed in the House. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would bring the issue up again after Thanksgiving in hopes of granting an emergency extension at least through the holidays, according to the Associated Press. Extending the benefits for three months would add another $12.5 billion to the nation’s $13.8 trillion in national debt. “The fact is, we can both provide this help and pay for it by cutting less effective stimulus spending,” said Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La, according to the Associated Press. “That’s what we should be debating today.”

They’ll also be voting on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts that gave breaks to those with incomes over $200,000 and couples with incomes over $250,000. Those tax cuts expire at the end of 2010 and would end up costing $700 billion over ten years. “I don’t think we want to leave here having fought for tax cuts for millionaires and against unemployment insurance for those that have lost their jobs,” spokesman Robert Gibbs told the Associated Press. “Republicans in Congress are eager to spend lavishly on tax breaks for the fortunate few, but stingy when it comes to helping the middle class make ends meet,” Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, told the Associated Press.

According to the Associated Press, every recession since 1950 has resulted in extended federal benefits that were paid for with debt. Some fear that if Republicans vote to allow unemployment insurance to lapse during the holidays they’ll receive a negative backlash. “It’s just inconceivable that in the last gasp of this Congress you would turn all your attention to the top 2 percent of wage earners in the country at the same time that middle class families are struggling to hold their families together because of prolonged unemployment,” said House Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif, according to the Associated Press. Unemployment benefits became more generous under the economic recover act passed last year. People can now receive up to 99 weeks of benefits in most states.

Getting the most out of insurance policies means more than just getting the best deal. You need to maintain the coverage levels that you need while seeking out good prices on policies.

Winds have been blowing again on Capitol Hill with a senior Senate Democrat teamed with a coalition of business and consumer groups coming to the table with yet another proposal to mandate health insurance for all Americans.

In a new move, the massive insurance company American International Group, Inc (AIG) has named new officers to oversee the corporate reconstructing in the wake of the company’s economic failure. The officers will play a decisive role in AIG’s reorganization.

One of the most important things we want for our family is financial stability. In the event that we are not here to support them, it is comforting to know that this is why life insurance was introduced. The types of life insurance commonly used are term life, whole life, universal life, and variable universal life.

Term life insurance is the original form of life insurance and it is considered to be pure insurance protection. The difference between term life and other types of life insurance is that term life does not build any cash value. Your dependents are relying on you for financial support. If you are no longer in the picture to care for them it is good to know that your life insurance can cover some of their lost income.