Unemployed Will Have Little To Be Thankful For, Claims Congresswoman

Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) had harsh words for her fellow Congress members on defeating H.R. 6419, the Emergency Unemployment Continuation Compensation Act, before leaving on Thanksgiving holiday.

“Only a Congress without any semblance of a conscience could have a happy Thanksgiving while unemployment benefits for millions of Americans expire during the Thanksgiving holiday on November 27,” said the Congresswoman in a written release.

The legislation would have extended benefits until February 28th, 2011 for unemployed Americans, including 8,100 D.C. residents.

Norton added that there is no disagreement among economists that unemployment insurance benefits are an immediate stimulus to the economy because they are spent immediately, injecting needed demand into the marketplace. She has vowed to continue to fight for these benefits.