WASHINGTON – Today, the recent bipartisan agreement on an extension of emergency unemployment insurance passed a key hurdle in the U.S. Senate, with 65 Senators voting to move ahead on the bill. Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley was among the 10 Senators – five leading Democrats and five leading Republicans – who brought forward the agreement several weeks ago, and he released the following statement after today’s vote:
“Today, the Senate has acted in a bipartisan fashion to move forward on extending a critical lifeline to struggling families. I’ve fought to keep this extension alive because it will help thousands of Oregonians keep food on the table and roofs over their heads while they look for work in an improving but still tough economy. I hope and expect that the Senate will pass this agreement in the coming days. Then we need the same spirit of urgency and bipartisan cooperation from the House to ensure these families are not left out in the cold.”
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