Statement by the President on the Need for Early Action by Congress To Extend Unemployment Compensation Benefits

ON MARCH TWENTY-FIFTH I recommended to the Congress enactment of legislation to provide the temporary continuation of unemployment compensation benefits for workers who have exhausted their benefits under State and federal laws. I said at the time that prompt action was necessary to give these workers and their families "a greater measure of security."

This is not a matter of statistics or economic theory. It concerns people--human beings--who need, and should have, the assistance of their Government.

I hope that the Members of the Congress will move as swiftly as possible on this vital problem when they return to Washington. All of us in Government have a special responsibility to act to alleviate the hardships which are being suffered, through no fault of their own, by these workers and their families.