Murphy Supports Extending Unemployment Benefits, Calls on President Bush to End Opposition and Help the Struggling Economy

Press Release

With unemployment at 4.7% in Connecticut in April, an increase from a year ago, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) voted today for the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, legislation that could immediately provided up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to jobless workers in every state. Every dollar spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in new economic demand, making this bill one of the most cost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy, yet the Bush Administration is opposing the legislation.

"The President needs to wake up and see what I see - people who want to work but who are stuck in neutral in this sour economy. As everything from food to gas is costing more these days, we needed to act quickly to help people make ends meet," said Murphy.

The legislation could potentially benefit more than 57,000 Connecticut residents by providing up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to workers exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits.

For five consecutive months, the U.S. economy has lost jobs, and the national unemployment rate had its biggest one-month increase in over 20 years in May. Extending unemployment benefits is not an unprecedented action; in March 2002, with 1.33 million Americans out of work for more than six months, President Bush signed an extension of the benefit. Today, he is opposing this move, yet there are 1.55 million Americans who have been unemployed for more than six months.

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