Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement in response to the decision by Senate Republicans to block an extension of Unemployment Insurance for tens of millions of struggling Americans.  In a 58-38 vote yesterday, Senate Republicans defeated a measure to extend Unemployment Insurance through November 30.

Below is Senator Feinstein's statement:

"This will be a very sad Fourth of July for tens of millions of unemployed Americans who will be worrying about how to pay their bills.  I was delighted to see that Senator Susan Collins and Senator Olympia Snowe changed their votes and voted to fund an extension of unemployment insurance through November. Unfortunately, due to Senator Byrd's death, the two votes were not sufficient.

The Republican resistance to extending unemployment insurance has been surprising, and it is insensitive to the plight of tens of millions of Americans who simply cannot find a job. In California, the unemployment rate is 12.4 percent, which means that 2.3 million Californians can't find work. I would implore the Republicans to allow this bill to pass."

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