Political Quotes

“Madam President, I believe I have a few minutes left--2 minutes. So before Senator McCain takes the floor, let me make a few more points that I think are critical. Last month, the economy did add jobs--203,000 jobs. But what we are seeing is the average length of unemployment is increasing. People are still out of work now an average of 36 weeks. That is more than 20 weeks longer than prerecession levels, and it is longer than the 26 weeks of State unemployment insurance. That is why we are here asking for benefits. People now are averaging a much longer time without finding work. This is not a situation where they fall within the State program. They have to have these Federal benefits, because it is harder and harder to find work. I would also suggest, too, that if you look at it another way, in 2008, when President Bush started this emergency unemployment compensation program, it took the average jobless American 5.6 months to find employment. Now, with the increased long-term unemployment, it takes about 9 months. So again, this is a reason why these long-term extended benefits are absolutely necessary. I would hope our colleagues would join myself and Senator Heller and Chairman Baucus and Senator Stabenow and others and continue to move aggressively forward and see if we can, in fact, extend the benefits so that many Americans can continue to have some assistance and some sustenance as they continue to look for work. With that, I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER.…”