Bill Clinton: “I intend to offer a unanimous consent request that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of the extension of…”

“I intend to offer a unanimous consent request that the Senate proceed to immediate consideration of the extension of unemployment insurance. As the dialog between the distinguished Senators from Pennsylvania and Michigan just illustrated, this is an issue that had bipartisan support--really, nonpartisan support. There are 2.2 million workers who have exhausted or are about to exhaust their benefits without finding a job. Ignoring these people, especially as we are about to enter into the Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season, will not make them go away. It is not going to help them automatically find a job because they have been out there diligently looking. The fact is, we don't have enough jobs right now. All of us hope that is going to turn around. But if you look at the statistics available, there are 1.7 million workers who have been unemployed for longer than 6 months as of October. That is an increase of 70,000 over September and over 180,000 over August. One out of every five of these unemployed has been out of work for more than 6 months. That is a proportion larger than at any time in the previous 8 years. I believe that extending these benefits now sends a message to those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own in States such as mine and that of Senator Cantwell of Washington.”