Mike Levin: “It has been said here that unfortunately the 107th adjourned without passage of a bill like this. I was here with the…”

“It has been said here that unfortunately the 107th adjourned without passage of a bill like this. I was here with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) that day of sine die adjournment. We tried to bring up this issue. We were thwarted by the Republican majority. We asked that we bring up the Senate bill. Unanimous consent is all that was needed. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) says the President has spoken passionately. On that day the President was silent. Now there has been political pressure. Now some of the faces of the unemployed have appeared in the newspapers and on television. And so now you are ready to act. The Senate has acted. But, look, I think we can do better and there is time for us to do even better. One of my colleagues on the Republican side said there should be no interruptions to those who are hurting, if I got the words down correctly. What about the million who have exhausted their extended benefits and who are hurting?”