During the 2002 legislative session the Congress is likely to enact legislation temporarily increasing unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The changes in UI may be part of a larger stimulus package or simply stand-alone legislation. As the debate intensifies it will be critical to understand the key issueshow the system works now, where it needs fixing, which workers are most affected, and how the system contributes to stimulating the economy. Towards this end, Dr. Wayne Vroman, a senior labor economist in the Population Studies Center, has prepared two helpful web documents.