14 Senators Urge Unemployment Extension
October 22nd, 2009 | Seth Michaels
Photo by Joe Kekeris/AFL-CIO
More than 1 million people hurt by the bad economy are at risk of losing their unemployment insurance by the end of the year. During the toughest economic crisis in more than a generation, 7,000 people every day are seeing their UI expiring—and it’s due to the petty obstructionism of two senators who are blocking the needed extension of UI benefits.
This afternoon, 14 senators from across the country joined together to urge swift passage of a UI extension, to give workers access to the system they’ve paid into and to keep families and communities economically secure. With unemployment officially at 9.8 percent and an estimated 26 million out of work or discouraged, we can’t wait any longer to extend UI.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said that the obstruction of desperately needed assistance to struggling families must end:
We can stand together now, pass this vital piece of legislation, and provide families with the means to stay in their homes and pay the bills as they look for work in these extraordinarily turbulent times. Slow-walking these benefits doesn’t just hurt individuals and families; it is bad for businesses and the broader economy. Helping people stay afloat is not a partisan issue—it is an urgent national issue that demands action now.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said that UI extension is necessary to prevent even further weakening of our economy:
The unemployment extension bill before the Senate is a great bill—one that will stimulate the economy and help unemployed workers across the country struggling to get back on their feet. Helping people who are about to lose a lifeline is the essence of what we do as public servants—that is why this delay is so disappointing. I ask those members who are holding up this urgent legislation for political purposes to do the right thing and pass this extension immediately.
The pending bill in the Senate would extend unemployment benefits for an additional 14 weeks, or 20 weeks in states with especially high unemployment. Unemployment benefits allow workers looking for jobs to continue to support their families and local businesses, providing a needed economic boost. Unfortunately, efforts to pass this bill have been blocked twice by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).
Click here to tell the Senate it’s time to pass an extension of UI benefits.
This article originally appeared in AFL-CIO blog on October 20, 2009.
About the Author: Seth Michaels is the online campaign coordinator for the AFL-CIO, focusing on the Employee Free Choice campaign. Prior to arriving at the AFL-CIO, he’s worked on online mobilization for Moveon.org, Blue State Digital and the National Jewish Democratic Council. He also spent two years touring the country as a member of the Late Night Players, a sketch comedy troupe.
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Tags: Senator Jack Reed, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Jon Kyl, Senator Orrin Hatch, Seth Michaels, unemployment, unemployment insurance
October 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
i cant pay my apartment anymore.
2 kids in college will stop going to school. I might be in the streets if i get no unemployment checque. No food too…Pls help us. Many families affected especially the old people.
October 23rd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I am a single mother that has been without unemployment since 10/5. I need money desperately. I have tried to find a job and there aren’t any. I live in Seaford, LI and I need you to pass this bill.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I am a single mother of three, unemployment ran out last week of September. I am a full-time nursing student, due to a layoff, and will graduate in February. It has been tight as it is, but with no money at all coming in, we may lose everything, including means to get to school which will then better our lives. I applied for extra loans to get us by, but even those loans take time. It may come too late!
October 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I am urging the Senate to pass this bill. It would help my family very much.
November 6th, 2009 at 2:11 am
YEA HA, it passed before I was on my death bed and let me add, we unemployed are good people. At least we are not eating horses, not that we ever would, thank God.
I’m Country Carl the Artist and Advocate for additional unemployment benefits on Unemployment-Gone-Mad dot com. Across this great country pawn shops were the only ones mining gold. As we waited for an unemployment extension, thousands more became dumpster divers, tent pitchers and street corner beggars. Even pets were becoming a burden for tearful owners and freaking out as they became abandon. So my hat is off to those of you who finally saw the light, because these New Depression Blues times can drag a good man to the bottle. Bless you Senators my beer summit is to you old farts. A big YEA HA from Country Carl. So google me up and cheer along, you finally did it.