On the recordDecember 6, 2011
I rise about the most important job that faces the Senate in the remainder of the year; that is, extending the unemployment benefits for millions of unemployed Americans struggling to find a job. I wish I didn't have to be down here talking about this today. I wish it weren't necessary to debate whether we should continue the Federal unemployment insurance program. I wish everyone in this Chamber would acknowledge that the recovery is still a work in progress and that we would agree about the critical need to continue to support struggling workers and their families. We have never failed to extend benefits in the past when unemployment was this high. But, unfortunately, in today's hyperpartisan atmosphere, even the most commonsense policies can turn into political footballs, and the unemployment insurance program seems to be no exception. The extreme right is on the attack, blaming the victims who have been the hardest hit by this economic crisis. In the same breath that they push for more cuts in corporate taxes and cuts in taxes to high-income individuals, Republican leaders argue we can't afford to extend unemployment benefits for people who are struggling to find a job. Congresswoman Bachmann, a candidate for President, recently went so far to say: ``If anyone will not work, neither should he eat.'' In an economy where there are four unemployed workers for every available job, the cruelty of that comment is simply astonishing.…
