On Friday the House of Representatives narrowly approved (215-204) a scaled-back version of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), a bill that would extend a number of benefit programs, including emergency unemployment payments, and provide for pension funding relief and fee disclosures.  Details of this joint legislation were first unveiled last week.  Due to the measure’s escalating cost estimate, however, members of Congress agreed to trim a number of benefit extensions to ensure enough votes for passage, including a last-minute decision to omit the COBRA premium subsidy extension entirely.  Other provisions, such as the one providing for an extension of the emergency unemployment benefits program, was reduced by one month.  Continue reading about this development at Littler's D.C. Employment Law Update blog.

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