[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H34]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to give voice to the many out-of-work 
Americans whose unemployment insurance was allowed to expire.
  James, from Santa Maria, California, wrote the following:

       I started working at the age of 16 because our father had 
     died. I had, up until April 2012, gone to work every day. I 
     am no slouch. I am a citizen, a taxpayer, a U.S. Army 
     veteran.

  But now, his unemployment insurance benefit is gone. For James and 
for millions of Americans like him, we must act.
  Unfortunately, House leadership has ignored this plight and, in doing 
so, these hardworking Americans will lose the means to keep job 
searching.
  We must extend this lifeline for the long-term unemployed, their 
children, for our local economies, which gain $3 of economic benefits 
for every $2 invested in the program. The Senate is on the verge of 
doing just that. With bipartisan support, we must follow their lead.
  James signed his letter to me in bold, capital letters: ``PLEASE 
HELP.'' I urge House leadership and my colleagues to do just that.

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