Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) released the statement below regarding today’s failed votes in the Senate to extend emergency unemployment benefits:
“Right now, thousands of Rhode Islanders remain out of work because of the slow economy. But that’s not their fault, and we should do everything we can to support them as our economy continues to recover. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Senate Republicans today continued blocking aid to these Rhode Islanders by voting against commonsense legislation to extend emergency unemployment benefits. I know Senator Reed will continue leading the fight to restore these benefits, and I’ll support him every step of the way. We can’t give up.”
Since December 28 when the federal emergency unemployment program expired, approximately 6,600 people in Rhode Island and 1.7 million people nationally have lost their benefits. Over the coming months, thousands more Rhode Islanders will not be eligible to receive extended weeks of unemployment benefits as their regular unemployment benefits run out.
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