Dennis Moore: “last Friday the Labor Department in our country reported that in May the unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent from 5…”

“last Friday the Labor Department in our country reported that in May the unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent from 5 percent and reported that unemployment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, retail trade and temporary health services, while health care continued to add jobs. The half percentage point increase is the largest single increase in the unemployment rate in 22 years, with more than 861,000 jobs lost in May. The unemployment insurance program provides benefits to those who become unemployed through no fault of their own and meet certain conditions. Our economy has also lost jobs for five consecutive months, and it's likely that more than 1.4 million workers have exhausted their unemployment benefits in the first 6 months of this year alone. The Congressional Budget Office estimate that had this legislation would provide additional benefits to 3.8 million unemployed workers, many of whom are at extreme financial risk. Extending these benefits is one of the most cost-effective and fast- acting ways to stimulate our faltering economy because the money is spent quickly, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Every $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in new economic demand. Congress has extended unemployment benefits over several occasions over the last 50 years in response to economic weakness.”