Political Quotes

“Thank you very much. I rise tonight to speak about emergency unemployment compensation. We know by the acronyms around here people refer to unemployment insurance as UI. What we are talking about in the real world are literally millions of Americans affected in one way or another because they have been out of work, unemployed for long periods of time. By one estimate the number of Americans who have been out of work for 6 months or longer--and many of these individuals have been out of work for a lot more than 6 months, but when the line is drawn of 6 months or longer, it is more than 4 million Americans. It is a big number. I will talk a little bit more about the Pennsylvania impact and walk through some of those numbers. This legislation that is finally coming together after many weeks is going to be, and I think must be, a bipartisan compromise. That is the only way to move forward. It is an effort to provide an essential lifeline--that is not an overstatement and may be an understatement--an essential lifeline to middle-class families who rely upon the program to stay afloat as they are actively seeking work. I think what is sometimes lost in the discussion is these are folks who are trying to work, trying to find a job again. I would have preferred a much longer extension than the one that is being discussed and worked on.…”