South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint said Monday, he thinks jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed will be extended.
DeMint met with a group of leaders from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. He says Congress wants to keep unemployment benefits coming to those who really need them.
DeMint says an agreement to extend the jobless benefits may be part of a deal to keep the Bush-era tax cuts that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year. "I think before we leave we're going to extend unemployment benefits. Hopefully they'll be paid for and if we have to do that to make a deal to extend current tax rates, that'll be important too because we'll have more people unemployed if we allow taxes to go up."
DeMint says it would be a big mistake in the middle of a recession to raise taxes on anyone.
