This week in benefits

The debt crisis dominated much of the news this week. Depending on your perspective, it should be either a very interesting or very frustrating day, with coverage of the crisis sure to dominate the news all weekend. As of the writing of this blog, the GOP leadership couldn’t muster enough support on the Boehner’s plan Thursday night, forcing them to delay a vote that which would have been more symbolic than anything anyway. Even if Boehner is able to muscle his plan through the House on Friday, Reid and the Democratic leadership in the Senate are waiting to kill it. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking as the Aug. 2 deadline looms. As BenefitsPro reports, the stalemate could result in hiring freezes, which would certainly be a shame given that applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since April.