Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Sunday said that in order for the government to extend longterm unemployment benefits, Republican lawmakers need to stop being themselves.
Reid said that the “vast majority of American people,” including conservatives, support extending unemployment insurance, but that GOP lawmakers do not.
“This is typical for Republican members of Congress. Not Republicans. Republican members of Congress,” Reid said of the GOP’s opposition to longterm unemployment benefits on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Reid said that small business owners, along with other Americans, understand the benefits of unemployment insurance, but that Republican politicians do not.
“That’s why small business favor this. … They know it’s good for the economy,” he said. “And so Republicans in Congress have to get away from being Republicans in Congress.”
Reid said that he wants the economy to improve, and that helping the unemployed will boost the country.
“We’ve got to turn this around,” he said. “I have nothing against rich people. But the rich are getting richer. The poor are getting poorer. The middle class is being squeezed out of existence.”
Reid said that the Senate will bring up a bill to extend longterm unemployment benefits Monday.
