Date: 2014-04-04
Speaker: LINDA T. SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. LEVIN for yielding and for his leadership on that committee. I rise to join Mr. LEVIN today in lending a voice to the 2.8 million American workers who are waiting for Congress to act and renew unemployment insurance benefits. These people have been waiting 17 weeks for Congress to reinstate the benefits that help them stay afloat as they search for a job. Imagine having to decide between putting food on the table and having a roof over your head. but these are the decisions that millions of workers. including more than 514.000 in California alone. continue to face. It is a hardship they have to face because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle refuse to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Over the last several weeks. my office has heard from dozens of constituents who are struggling because of congressional inaction. In fact. I have had the opportunity to talk with some of them and hear their stories personally. They come from all walks of life. from working class backgrounds to even educated professionals who hold masters and doctorate degrees. and they all share one thing in common. they want to work. If I may. I would like to share one of their stories with you. One of my constituents wrote to me: Linda. in the past. I benefited from unemployment insurance when I was between jobs. Part of my responsibility every time I went to pick up a check was to certify that I was actively searching for a job. This motivated me to continue searching for a job because I knew that the small income from unemployment benefits allowed me to pay for my needs. such as copies of my resume. gasoline to travel to prospective work sites and interviews. and the phone calls I made to potential employers who were looking for employees. Nowadays. it seems that the unemployed are being punished for being jobless through no fault of their own. That is just one of the many letters my office has received. but all of them share the same message: they want my colleagues on other side of the aisle to know they are not lazy or unmotivated. they want to work. As they continue to navigate the tough labor market. they need unemployment benefits to provide for their families and pay for the gas and phone bills that help them look for work and connect with potential employers. Mr. Speaker. unemployment insurance is not a handout. Workers earned those benefits. They paid into the unemployment insurance program. so they would have a safety net when times got tough. Unfortunately. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle dont seem to agree. so perhaps an economic argument might sway them. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that an extension of unemployment insurance benefits would grow our GDP by 0.2 percent and add 200.000 jobs to our economy in this year alone. That is because recipients are more likely to take the money they receive and spend it on essential goods and services. As a result. employers would hire more people to meet consumer demand for those goods and services. It is simple economics. Mr. Speaker. My Republican colleagues say they care about creating jobs and growing our economy. but when an opportunity comes around to do exactly that. they refuse to act. It has been 17 weeks since millions lost their unemployment insurance benefits. so what are they waiting for? Each week that we delay. 72.000 new unemployed Americans lose their benefits. That is one more household. one more family that will have to decide whether they keep a roof over their head or food on their table. Mr. Speaker. a lot of these Americans are part of the group of longterm unemployed. These are people who. despite their best attempts. have not been able to find work in over six months. The reality that these Americans face is abysmal. Research by Princeton University shows that. in any given month. the longterm unemployed have only a one in 10 chance of finding work. and a big reason for this is because employers are more likely to discriminate against longterm unemployed. even if they have the same skills and experience as other applicants. Mr. Speaker. these people are waiting for Congress to act. I will share one more note from Ron in Pasadena. California. who says: I just hope that our representatives are able to see beyond political polarities to the faces of those families to whom this issue does not merely exist as a statistic or a theory. but more genuinely as a question of survival. Next week. the Senate is set to vote and pass an extension of unemployment insurance benefits. The measure would reinstate Federal unemployment benefits for the longterm unemployed and allow for retroactive payments to go out to more than 2 million Americans who lost their benefits in late December. I hope that my colleagues here in the House summon the courage to act and follow the Senates lead. It is time to stop disrespecting people who are working hard to try to find work. Mr. Speaker. dont leave millions of millions behind. Give unemployment insurance the vote that it deserves.