Shortly after the Senate narrowly cleared the first procedural hurdle to temporarily extend federal benefits to the unemployed, President Obama urged Congress to pass the bill and laid out the moral case to help poor and struggling Americans.
“I just want everybody to understand this is not an abstraction,” said Obama, who was flanked by several who lost their benefits on Dec. 28 after Congress failed to act before leaving for the holidays. “…These are your neighbors, your friends, your family members, it could at some point be any of us. That’s why we set up a system of unemployment insurance. The notion was everybody is making a contribution because you don’t know when the business cycle or an economic crisis might make any of us vulnerable.”
Obama at the White House added, “We are not a people who say you’re on your own. We’re people who believe that we’re all in it together.”
The bill advanced by a 60-37 vote after six Republicans joined the Democratic majority. Democrats needed at least 60 votes to push the legislation forward and begin debate.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...
