Can Anything Help The Long-Term Unemployed?

Going into the new year, the national unemployment rate stands at 7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means the figure is the lowest it's been since 2008. But the welcoming of 2014 is hardly good news for one set of workers -- the long-term unemployed. For the first time since the financial crisis began half a decade ago, Congress has passed on extending emergency insurance benefits for those who have been out of work for up to 99 weeks. The program was left out of the bipartisan budget deal agreed to this month, as the Washington Post reported. The benefits are set to expire this weekend.