One chamber of Congress gave unemployed Americans cause for hope Tuesday, while the other, led by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, remains in opposition.

House Republicans indicated that any extension of unemployment benefits would come with more than a pound of flesh. Democrats would have to approve one or more causes they typically find repugnant, reports The New York Times:

But the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, made clear he would exact a price for consideration in the House, saying that not only would an extension of expired benefits have to be paid for but that it must also be tied to Republican priorities, such as building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, expanding exemptions from the Affordable Care Act and opening energy exploration on federal land.

The bill would resuscitate a program, which expired in December, that benefits more than a million long-term unemployed Americans.

President Obama, below, spoke after the Senate passed the bill.

— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer

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