The Unemployment Insurance Extension that isn't

Republicans and Democrats have clashed frequently over federal unemployment insurance ever since the unemployed first became eligible for 99 weeks of benefits at the end of 2009.

Despite the high-profile disagreements, which have repeatedly led to lapsed benefits for millions of people, Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on what to do next: reduce the duration of benefits and make sure their cost isn't added to the federal budget deficit. But unless Congress reaches a compromise in the next week or so, federal unemployment benefits will lapse again for nearly 2 million people come January.

In December, Republicans proposed reducing the number of weeks available by 40. Democrats are willing to meet them halfway by cutting 20 weeks, albeit in a backdoor fashion: Congress would reauthorize the two federal unemployment programs, but the second would automatically phase out in one state after another over the course of 2012.

Although the Senate legislation would keep the federal programs in place for just two months, the second Extended Benefits program would phase out in 11 states during that time. It's a "wholly inadequate" outcome, said Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), the top Democrat on the committee overseeing unemployment, because "with very little warning, tens of thousands of long-term unemployed Americans will be cut off unemployment insurance." Levin did not say, however, that he opposed the bill...

As Republicans have noted, the Obama administration was the first to suggest letting Extended Benefits dwindle in 2012.