This week Congress will vote on extending and expanding the temporary  payroll tax cut for 160 million American workers. And it may soon  consider extending emergency unemployment benefits that support those  workers and local economies hurt most by the Great Recession. Failure to  extend these two critical measures by December 31 will depress U.S. economic output by about 1 percent and raise our risk of slipping back into recession.  Congress must vote to extend both measures through 2012.
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