AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka blasted Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) newly reached budget deal for leaving out an extension of unemployment benefits.
“It is shocking that Republicans have refused to include an extension of unemployment benefits in today’s budget agreement,” Trumka said in a written statement. “At the end of December, federal unemployment benefits will expire for 1.3 million jobless workers. Lawmakers must not desert these workers by going home for their own holidays without extending the federal unemployment benefits program.”
“We applaud Sen. Murray for resisting Republican demands to cut Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits and food assistance for people with low incomes,” the statement continued. “Yet this budget agreement does nothing for the millions of people who remain without work and asks nothing from the people who caused our economic crisis and continue to benefit from economic inequality.”
Read the full statement here.