Political Quotes

“Mr. President, millions of Americans all across the country, and hundreds of thousands in my State, have lost their jobs. To soften the blow of those job losses, we seek to extend the emergency unemployment insurance benefits that many of these Americans receive. Since the beginning of this crisis, we have extended these benefits several times, but more recently, a Republican filibuster has kept us from doing so. I hope we will finally clear the way to extend these benefits today, because the failure to do so has been deeply wrong. It has done great harm to millions of American families. Already coping with an economy that is not yet creating the jobs they need, these families must also cope with the fact that because of a Republican filibuster, Congress has failed to provide the help they need. The arguments offered in opposition to this extension aren't just a matter of differing opinions. They are fictions. And based on these fictions, the opponents seek not just to block an extension of unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans, but to stop us from even holding a vote. Some opponents tell us they oppose this extension because jobless benefits encourage workers to stay on unemployment instead of seeking work. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported just last week that in May of this year, there were about 3.2 million job openings in the United States. There were at the same time roughly 15 million unemployed Americans.…”