Republicans Block Unemployment

Once again, Republicans are opposing legislation to help ordinary Americans who are out of work through no fault of their own. Unless Congress passes an extension of unemployment insurance, some 1.7 million Americans will have lost their unemployment benefits by Saturday—leaving their families even more strapped for resources, and their communities in danger of another job-killing downturn. “Republicans’ standing in the way for help for families may be hard to explain to their constituents, but it shouldn’t be surprising. In the greatest economic crisis since the Depression, Republicans have stood against the middle class again and again, whether the issue was the job-creating Recovery Act, tax credits for small business, restoring fiscal responsibility, or reforming Wall Street to prevent another meltdown like the one that led to this recession. That’s not what the American people want.”