Murray Urges Renewal of Critical Unemployment Insurance Benefits

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke on the Senate floor to urge her colleagues to pass a renewal of critical unemployment insurance benefits. Senator Murray shared stories she's heard from constituents about what these critical benefits mean for them, and for their families, as they continue to look for work. Currently, there are three unemployed workers for every single open job. If every opening was filled tomorrow, America would still have more than 7 million workers across the country without a job to even apply for. Additionally, more than one-third of all unemployed workers have been out of a job for 6 months or longer—above historic averages and higher than in past recoveries. Without a renewal of federal unemployment benefits, the United States economy is expected to lose over 200,000 jobs in 2014.