President Obama on Tuesday urged members of Congress to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who have been out of work for a long time, arguing that those unemployed are “not lazy” but victims of the country’s economic crisis.
Appearing in the East Room of the White House with more than a dozen unemployed people on
risers behind him, Obama took issue with the argument that extending benefits will “somehow hurt the unemployed because it saps their motivation to get a new job.”
“That really sells the American people short,” Obama said. “I can’t name a time when I met an American who would rather have an unemployment check than the pride of having a job.”“The long-term unemployed are not lazy,” he said. “They’re not lacking in motivation. They’re coping with the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in generations.”
The remarks came shortly after legislation to provide the unemployment benefits took a significant step forward in the Senate. Six Republicans joined Democrats in a vote allowing debate on the measure to begin.
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