Keith Ellison: “We need a safety net. We need to have a caring Nation, and Americans are a caring people and a compassionate people, but…”

“We need a safety net. We need to have a caring Nation, and Americans are a caring people and a compassionate people, but we also are a working people and we want to work, and we also need a vision for our future because if you're unemployed right now, this might not be a bad time to think about getting some extra education, as long as you can get some unemployment insurance, and if you get that education, maybe you want to think about a green job for a green energy future. You know, I want to add, too, while we're on the subject of jobs, the payroll contracted for the fifth month in a row, down 49,000 with most of the net job losses occurring in the construction industry, factories, offices, and retailers. Since the total payroll peaked last December, they've been down by around 324,000 jobs since the government sector tends to be less cyclically affected by downturns. And looking at just the private sector, job loss can provide a more accurate gauge of the lagging economy's impact on job growth. Private sector employment has fallen over the past 6 months by over 400,000 jobs. I'm not happy to report that to you, Mr. Speaker, but it is the situation that people are facing, and I think it's important that this Congress be willing to respond to the needs of the people, which is why we needed three more votes in order to get that extension of the unemployment insurance passed as we tried to do today. I think we're going to hit that mark. We're certainly not going to quit.…”