Political Quotes

“Madam President, I join with Senator Mikulski from Maryland and her comments about extending unemployment benefits. We all know these numbers. In my State, 47,000 Ohioans lost their unemployment benefits. At the end of June, that number increased dramatically to more than 90,000. If we don't pass the extension today, or this week, at the end of July more than 80,000 additional Ohioans will lose their benefits. These numbers are incredible. I think it is important to put a human face on these numbers, in large part because 41 Members of the Senate, overwhelmingly Republicans and one Democrat, have consistently voted to filibuster, to block extending unemployment insurance. I guess the reason for that is they think of these as numbers. They don't think of these as people because I cannot imagine, when they call their names out in the well and they respond and say no over and over and over, as has happened over the last 7 weeks--it is just an amazing thing to me. I think my colleagues who vote no, the 39 or 40 Republicans who vote no, must see this unemployment insurance as welfare. I know some of them think that. But it is insurance. We don't call it unemployment welfare, we call it unemployment insurance. That means they pay in when they are working, and they get help when they are not. That is done to help individual people, of course.…”