Patty Murray: “Today there are 9 million Americans who are unemployed, and the percentage of long-term unemployed is at a 20-year high.…”

“Today there are 9 million Americans who are unemployed, and the percentage of long-term unemployed is at a 20-year high. Our first priority in this Congress should really be to get America back to work. The current unemployment benefit extension... expires at the end of December. Our economy is continuing to create only one job opening for every three unemployed Americans. So it is clear the current Federal program is inadequate to address the needs of out-of-work Americans in today's troubled economy. Another extension with no additional weeks of benefits will leave far too many of our workers and their families out in the cold. In my home State of Washington, there are 124,000 people who will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year. In addition, more than 1 million Americans have run out of unemployment benefits and remain without work. These Americans have been stretching their savings, refinancing their homes, moving in with other family, and depleting their retirement accounts. Three out of four workers are now running out of benefits before they find a job.”