Eleanor Holmes Norton: “For the first time in history, the other body has to wait for a new Member to be sworn in today to take up unemployment…”

“For the first time in history, the other body has to wait for a new Member to be sworn in today to take up unemployment insurance and break a filibuster. Even in the mildest of turndowns, there has always been bipartisan support for unemployment benefits. Ask the average American: Give us your definition of emergency spending: unemployment benefits paid for in part from employee paychecks or more tax cuts for the wealthy? The question answers itself, for all except my Republican friends in this House. They've gone further and insulted the unemployed by offering as an excuse that benefits keep people from looking for and taking jobs. The Bush recession left one job for every five job-seekers. It's cruel to blame the unemployed for not finding work in the midst of the great recession. It is worst to deny them food to put on the table.”