President Obama called for the extension of unemployment benefits after the Senate approved a bipartisan budget deal on Wednesday.
Obama applauded the deal as move away from “shortsighted, crisis-driven decision-making” that avoids another government shutdown. But he called it a first step, adding that unemployment insurance should be extended after it was left out of the deal.
“Congress should pass an extension of unemployment insurance so more than a million Americans don’t lose a vital lifeline as they fight to find a job,” Obama said.
The House approved the measure last week. Now both chambers need to approve an omnibus spending bill by mid-January to avoid a government shutdown.
Obama gave approval to a bill sponsored by Sens. Jack Reed
John (Jack) Francis ReedOvernight Defense — Presented by Huntington Ingalls Industries — Pentagon approves transfer of .5B to border wall | Dems blast move | House Dem pushes Pelosi to sue over Trump's Yemen veto Pentagon approves transfer of .5B to Trump border wall from Afghan forces, other accounts Overnight Defense — Presented by Huntington Ingalls Industries — Trump hits Iran with new sanctions amid standoff | Joint Chiefs chair floats longer military presence in Afghanistan | North Korea defends rocket test MORE (D-R.I.) and Dean Heller
Dean Arthur HellerThis week: Barr back in hot seat over Mueller report Trump suggests Heller lost reelection bid because he was 'hostile' during 2016 presidential campaign Trump picks ex-oil lobbyist David Bernhardt for Interior secretary MORE (R-Nev.) that would extend jobless aid for three months.
The president noted how significant the deal was after years of gridlock.
“I’m pleased that with tonight’s vote in the Senate. For the first time in years, both parties in both houses of Congress have come together to pass a budget,” he said.
The deal will allow the country to make further investment in education and research, Obama said, after rolling back parts of the sequester. The deal replaces $63 billion in sequestration cuts over the next two years and sets the top-line budget number just above $1 trillion in each of the next two years.
“All told, it’s a good first step away from the shortsighted, crisis-driven decision-making that has only served to act as a drag on our economy,” he said. “It helps chart our economic course for the next two years, which means that the American people won’t be exposed to another painful and unwise government shutdown.”
