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Letter to John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Eric Cantor, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives - Emergency Unemployment Compensation

Letter

By: Jim McGovern, Chellie Pingree, Joyce Beatty, Eliot Engel, Peter DeFazio, Janice Hahn, John Conyers, Jr., Yvette Clarke, Mark Pocan, John Delaney, Niki Tsongas, John Barrow, Gary Peters, Luis Gutiérrez, Betty McCollum, Juan Vargas, Elizabeth Esty, Paul Tonko, John Yarmuth, Pedro Pierluisi, Jan Schakowsky, Steny Hoyer, Nydia Velázquez, Ann Kirkpatrick, Dan Maffei, Brian Higgins, Zoe Lofgren, Mark Takano, Adam Schiff, Ted Deutch, John Garamendi, Gwen Moore, Xavier Becerra, Jim Costa, Scott Peters, Suzanne Bonamici, Jim Cooper, Jim Himes, Sean Maloney, Dave Loebsack, Steve Israel, Keith Ellison, Sam Farr, Terri Sewell, Derek Kilmer, Marcy Kaptur, Bill Foster, Nita Lowey, Ron Barber, Bill Enyart, Jared Huffman, Ron Kind, Brad Schneider, Dina Titus, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Loretta Sanchez, Joaquin Castro, Donna Edwards, David Cicilline, Beto O'Rourke, Sandy Levin, Gerry Connolly, Julia Brownley, Matt Cartwright, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., John Carney, Jr., Peter Welch, Kyrsten Sinema, John Tierney, Steven Horsford, Rush Holt, Jr., Carolyn Maloney, Mike Thompson, Allyson Schwartz, Stephen Lynch, John Dingell, Mike Quigley, Kathy Castor, Judy Chu, Al Green, Linda Sánchez, Henry Waxman, Rick Larsen, Mike Michaud, Bruce Braley, José Serrano, Jared Polis, Chris Van Hollen, Jr., Tim Ryan, Eric Swalwell, Carol Shea-Porter, Anna Eshoo, Danny Davis, Eleanor Norton, Maxine Waters, Rosa DeLauro, Albio Sires, Tim Bishop, Grace Napolitano, Raul Grijalva, Joe Garcia, Ben Luján, Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee, Frank Pallone, Jr., Jim Moran, Jr., Joe Crowley, Grace Meng, Patrick Murphy, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Marcia Fudge, Jim Langevin, Suzan DelBene
Date: Jan. 16, 2014
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income

January 16, 2014

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker, the U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Eric Cantor
Majority Leader, the U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor,

On December 28, 1.3 million Americans immediately lost all of their unemployment insurance when the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program expired. While this number grows higher with every week of Congressional inaction, the House of Representatives is scheduled to recess for district work period today for 10 days. This is unacceptable. Another 100,000 Americans will lose their benefits during this break while the families who lost their benefits right after Christmas will continue struggling to put food on the table, heat their homes, and pay their bills weeks after they lost this lifeline.

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program is an investment with a proven economic return, and it is the right thing to do for American families. Every dollar spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.55 or more in economic activity. These benefits have also keep hundreds of thousands of American children out of poverty.

In the almost three weeks since the December 28 deadline, over 200,000 more Americans have exhausted their state benefits and are now unable to receive assistance under the expired federal program. The number grows higher every day. Approximately 72,000 Americans will lose their unemployment benefits every week -- the equivalent of one person every 8 seconds.

There are legitimate policy discussions to be had about exactly how we should extend federal unemployment insurance, but we cannot find common ground when the House of Representatives is not in session and when this legislation is not even being considered in the House. The clock is ticking. This is why we urge you to cancel the pending district work period and keep the House of Representatives in session until both the House and Senate have sent legislation to the President to extend emergency federal unemployment benefits. Thank you for your consideration and we stand ready to work with you on this critical issue.

Sincerely,


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