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Congress on Wednesday finally signaled it is not deaf to the plight of the jobless, voting in favor of extending unemployment benefits.

The bipartisan 227-179 vote in the House of Representatives is largely symbolic, because it would have to be approved by the Senate, then both houses would have to authorize it. But it is an acknowledgement that the legislators recognize the difficulty millions of Americans are having in the wake of the economys post-recession recovery.

If passed, the legislation sponsored by Rep. George Miller (D-California) would authorize the extension of federal unemployment benefits for six months.

"The nearly two million workers who will exhaust their benefits over the next six months need a lifeline of support to stay afloat until there a true recovery in the jobs market," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. "The Republican argument that the economy is recovering quickly rings hollow for unemployed workers. Behind the hype is the stark reality that the nation remains mired in a deep jobs crisis."

Benefits for the jobless were last extended in May 2003. Those ran out on December 31, 2003, leading workers into the new year without a job or the back-up assistance provided by the federal unemployment benefits. Unemployment in the United States reached a 20-year high last fall and despite a better outlook for the economy, job creation still lags far behind.

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