Boehner: no acceptable White House plan to extend U.S. unemployment

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday he has not seen an acceptable plan from the White House to extend long-term unemployment benefits that are due to expire on December 31. Boehner said he told President Barack Obama last week that he would consider such a plan from the White House. "I said we would clearly consider it, as long as it was paid for and as long as there are other efforts that will help get our economy going once again. I have not seen a plan from the White House that meets those standards," he said. In the Senate, the majority Democrats have not advanced a stand-alone unemployment compensation extension, arguing that Republican opposition has made it too cumbersome to pass in the chamber, Democratic aides said. These aides added that unless Boehner initiates a bill to extend the benefits in the House and pushes it through the Republican-controlled chamber first, the benefits will likely expire at the end of this month for about 1.3 million jobless Americans. (Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by Chris Reese)