Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. In the last 12 days, nearly 1.4 million Americans have been cut off from their emergency unemployment benefits. Thousands more Americans will lose their benefits every week without congressional action. It is unforgiveable that this Congress will adjourn tomorrow without addressing this crisis. Instead of offering a solution to extend emergency unemployment benefits, this rule does not allow us to address this critical issue of extending unemployment insurance immediately. The longer we wait to fix this problem, the more serious it becomes for the long-term unemployed and their families. Punishing unemployed Americans and their families who have been hit hard in this tough recession through no fault of their own is just plain wrong. My home State Senator, Senator Jack Reed, has offered a proposal in the Senate. It is a critical step in the right direction to preserve this critical lifeline while we work on a long-term solution, and we should do the same thing here. Surely my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want the opportunity to vote on extending unemployment insurance. So I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question, to defeat the previous question, so we can take up the issue of extending unemployment insurance for many Rhode Islanders and Americans all across this country who desperately need these benefits.”