Washington - Tonight, the U.S. Senate passed an overdue extension of Unemployment Insurance, emergency COBRA health care assistance and important highway funding, finally ending the Republican obstruction that had caused emergency assistance for laid-off workers to run out on Sunday. This assistance helps keep families afloat, is routinely cited by economists as a key stimulus measure and provides major budget relief for states like New Jersey, which are facing unemployment insurance fund shortfalls.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Finance Committee, hailed the passage of the extension.

"The political stunt that cut the safety net out from under laid off-workers showed a lot about where the compassion resides in Congress," said Menendez. "Families hit hard by the worst economy in generations should never have to be the victims of a political game. As a result of this extension, families will be able to continue putting food on the table and can keep health care coverage while they look for new work in a tough jobs market. States like New Jersey, which are facing Unemployment Insurance fund shortfalls, have benefitted greatly from the emergency assistance we provided in the recovery package, and this will allow it to continue. The extension of highway investments keeps job-creating recovery projects moving. This is an important safety net for families, for the states and for our economy, and it's vital that it finally passed."

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