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Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives - Republicans Must Not Adjourn for Year without Extending Federal Unemployment Insurance

Letter

By: Carolyn McCarthy, Cheri Bustos, Bruce Braley, Mark Pocan, Gene Green, Donna Christensen, Robin Kelly, Cedric Richmond, Dave Loebsack, Colleen Hanabusa, Jim McDermott, Bobby Rush, Denny Heck, Sheila Jackson Lee, Lacy Clay, Jr., Tammy Duckworth, Frank Pallone, Jr., Bill Foster, Lois Frankel, Chellie Pingree, Rush Holt, Jr., Yvette Clarke, Eliot Engel, Bill Keating, Bennie Thompson, Jim Clyburn, Keith Ellison, Betty McCollum, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Gwen Moore, Marcy Kaptur, Bobby Scott, Pedro Pierluisi, Steven Horsford, John Conyers, Jr., Nydia Velázquez, Jerry Nadler, Peter DeFazio, John Sarbanes, Niki Tsongas, Dan Kildee, Steve Israel, Nick Rahall II, Steve Cohen, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Matt Cartwright, Marcia Fudge, John Lewis, Don Payne, Jr., Hakeem Jeffries, Dina Titus, Mike Michaud, Joyce Beatty, Carolyn Maloney, Dan Maffei, Emanuel Cleaver II, Brian Higgins, Richard Neal, Frederica Wilson, Derek Kilmer, Joe Kennedy III, Jim Langevin, Mike Honda, Peter Welch, Steny Hoyer, Charlie Rangel, Jim Cooper, Ron Kind, Dutch Ruppersberger, Brad Schneider, Tim Bishop, John Dingell, Luis Gutiérrez, Rick Nolan, Pete Gallego, Danny Davis, Suzan DelBene, John Yarmuth, Jim McGovern, Jan Schakowsky, Mike Capuano, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, John Delaney, Albio Sires, Adam Smith, Beto O'Rourke, Joe Crowley, Grace Meng, Annie Kuster, Henry Cuellar, Tulsi Gabbard, Earl Blumenauer, Paul Tonko, Dan Lipinski, Bob Brady, Nita Lowey, Suzanne Bonamici, Joaquin Castro, Rubén Hinojosa, Sr., David Cicilline, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Tim Ryan, Gary Peters, Joe Garcia, Ben Luján, Jr., Al Green, Chaka Fattah, Sr., Jim Moran, Jr., John Tierney, Rick Larsen, Louise Slaughter, Bill Enyart, José Serrano, Donna Edwards, Allyson Schwartz, Bill Owens, Stephen Lynch, Mel Watt, Rob Andrews, Elijah Cummings, Marc Veasey, Ted Deutch, Bill Pascrell, Jr., André Carson, Hank Johnson, Jr., Sanford Bishop, Jr.
Date: Dec. 11, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Entitlements and the Safety Net

Dear Speaker Boehner:

We write to urge you to address the looming expiration of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans before adjourning Congress for the remainder of the year. Without swift Congressional action, 1.3 million jobless workers will have their benefits cut off on December 28th, and nearly another 1.9 million will lose their unemployment benefits over the first half of next year. This would not only be a devastating blow for millions of Americans who are already struggling, but it would also hurt our economy.

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program is scheduled to immediately and completely stop at the end of 2013, during the holiday season, with the last payable week ending on December 28th. All current EUC beneficiaries will lose their benefits, and individuals exhausting their limited state unemployment benefits will no longer be eligible for EUC benefits in 2014. This cutoff will affect over 3 million Americans over the next six months, and thereby also negatively impact our economic growth. In fact, recent estimates indicate that the expiration of the EUC program would cost our economy 310,000 jobs and drain roughly four-tenths of a percentage point from first-quarter economic growth.

While unemployment benefits remain a critical lifeline for dislocated workers and their families, these benefits have recently been significantly scaled back. According to the Congressional Research Service, the total amount of weeks of unemployment benefits has dropped by more than a third across the states, and by more than 50 percent in some states, compared to two years ago. Furthermore, the recipients have seen their weekly benefit payment provided by the EUC program cut under sequestration.

Even with the progress our economy has seen since the depths of the recession, there are still 1.3 million fewer jobs today than when the recession started six years ago. Additionally, approximately 4 million Americans are considered long-term unemployed, and have been looking for work for more than six months. Now is certainly not the time to further decimate vital federal assistance to workers who have lost their job through no fault of their own and who must actively seek work in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits. We therefore strongly urge you to immediately bring up a one-year extension of the current EUC program.

Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.


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