Mike Levin: “I just want to speak further to clarify this issue that the gentlewoman from Washington has spoken about. There are a…”

“I just want to speak further to clarify this issue that the gentlewoman from Washington has spoken about. There are a million people who exhausted their 13 weeks of extended benefits. There are 31,500 of them in your State. To the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 44,000 are in your State. In 1991, we provided 26 weeks of extended benefits. We did not need to change the trigger to do that. We Democrats here today wanted to provide to those people an additional 13 weeks if they were still out of work. You keep talking about those who are out of work, who are hurting, who are looking for work. How about the million who have been out of work beyond the 39 weeks who are looking for work? Why do we not act today as we did 10 years ago? Why not? What is the obstacle? Is it because the Senate would have to act? All right. They would have to act. They are going to be in session. The Republicans control both Houses and the White House. This is a vivid example of those who have control not being willing to exercise it. I understand covering one's tracks politically. We should have acted in December, and you failed to do it. But for the unemployed, it is not a question of covering tracks politically. It is covering the expenses day to day for food, for housing, and for health care if possible. There is no excuse for the refusal of the Republicans to let us bring extended benefits for the million of exhaustees up today. Zero excuse.”