One-third of the Recovery Act was emergency relief, like increasing unemploymentbenefits and helping states keep teachers and police officers and firefighters from losing their jobs.
Barack Obama's proposed American Jobs Act would reauthorise for another year current emergency unemploymentbenefits, which help to support consumption among the jobless, reducing poverty and propping up demand.
Finally, as we are moving forward in these areas, we should also extend the relief in the Recovery Act, including emergency assistance to seniors, unemployment insurance benefits, COBRA, and relief to states and localities to prevent layoffs.