In helping the unemployed, Congress helps the nation

When the 108th Congress convenes Jan. 7 it will have its work cut out for it.
One of the first things it should do is rectify an unjust legacy from the closing days of the 107th Congress
Even as unemployment rates were rising to the highest level in eight years, Congress refused to extend unemployment benefits for 830,000 people who have been unable to find jobs in this uncertain economy.
About 23,000 of those people who will lose their benefits three days after Christmas are Ohioans.
Unless Congress acts quickly, an additional 95,000 unemployed workers will join the ranks of the uncovered each week.
We'll resist dwelling on the fact that the same congressmen who gave themselves a $5,000 a year pay raise chose to ignore the needs of 830,000 unemployed workers and their families. We won't dwell on it, but it must be mentioned.
Action plan
Sherrod Brown, a Democrat representing Ohio's 13th District, has already written to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, asking him to make another 13-week extension of unemployment benefits a priority.
Brown is urging that the extension be made retroactive so that the nation's unemployed will not be left out in the cold this winter.
Extending the benefits not only makes humanitarian sense, it makes economic sense.
Virtually every dollar that those unemployed workers receive will be poured right back into the economy, paying bills and buying life's necessities.
The payments will help keep families off the welfare rolls -- which strain state budgets -- and will help others avoid filing for bankruptcy. Banks and credit card companies that suffer losses from bankruptcy eventually pass those costs on to the consumers.
Extending unemployment is an issue that directly affects almost a million Americans, but indirectly affects everyone.
Hastert should heed the call for action and the House and Senate should respond to the initiative.