Political Quotes

“It's estimated that 4 million workers, 4 million, would be eligible under this unemployment extension, over 1 million who have already exhausted and 3 million in the future. You know, in previous downturns when there were unemployment offices giving out checks, we could go there and we could talk to the people. That's no longer true in most States, but we should not let the absence of real faces blur our vision in Washington. If you had the 4 million people line up, it would extend from Washington, D.C., to Denver, Colorado, and we should not differentiate as to what State they live in. If they've exhausted their benefits, they should be eligible. Mr. Weller says targeted, that's over 6 percent. It leaves out a majority of those who have exhausted their benefits. It's not targeted. It's ruthless. It's ruthless. It doesn't take into account the lives of people. We saw the biggest increase in 20 years last night, from 5 to 5.5 percent. When President Bush signed the extension in 2002, it was 5.7. So you're going to stand up here now and quibble because of a difference of two-tenths of 1 percent, you don't want to extend benefits. The 20-week thing is a Trojan horse. It's another excuse not to step up to the plate. This is not a political issue. This is a people's issue. The exhaustion rate is the highest it's been at the beginning of the past five recessions. I urge on a bipartisan basis the passage of this bill.”