Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold sent the following statement urging his colleagues to swiftly pass an extension of unemployment insurance.

“We must quickly pass an unemployment insurance extension to provide desperately needed relief for Americans, including thousands of Wisconsinites, who are in danger of exhausting their unemployment benefits. Unemployment insurance provides a crucial lifeline to families to help them afford housing, food, medical expenses and other essential needs as they work to get back on their feet. With Wisconsin’s unemployment rate over eight percent, now is the time for Congress to support this extension.”  

On September 16, 2009 Feingold wrote the Senate Finance Committee urging the Committee to take steps to extend unemployment benefits soon. According to the National Employment Law Project, without action by Congress to extend federal unemployment benefits, approximately 24,000 Wisconsinites and 1.3 million Americans will exhaust their federal benefits by the end of the year. A copy of Feingold’s letter can be viewed here.