They Voted for You: Unemployment

U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st; Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd; and Nick Rahall, D-3rd, all helped pass the "Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008" on Thursday.

By 274-137, the House "approved an extra three months of jobless benefits for all unemployed Americans, knowing the plan's chances are slight in the Senate and almost nonexistent at the White House," The Associated Press reports.

"The White House already has threatened to veto the bill, and Senate Democrats have said they won't try and force their Republican colleagues to consider the House legislation," the article said. "The White House and Republicans said a bill targeting unemployment benefits only to states that have high unemployment would be more palatable to them."

Supporters attracted just enough votes to override a threatened presidential veto.

"The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week increased by 25,000 from the week before," the article explains. "The unemployment rate in May jumped to 5.5 percent, up from 5 percent in April. It was the biggest one-month gain in 22 years."

The Register-Herald of Beckley has an article focusing on Rahall's vote.