[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 8, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H45-H46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
(Ms. KUSTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in strong support for renewing
the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.
Because Congress failed to act, this vital program expired on
December 28
[[Page H46]]
of last year. Just 3 days after Christmas, 1.3 million Americans,
including over 1,000 Granite Staters, were cut off from their benefits.
Each week of congressional inaction, as many as 150 additional Granite
Staters will lose access to benefits.
This compensation provides a critical lifeline to Granite Staters and
other Americans who are struggling to find work.
This includes my constituent Lois Little, a teacher who wrote to me
from Colebrook, New Hampshire. At the end of the last school year, Lois
lost her job after teaching for 29 years because of falling enrollment
in her rural school district. Over the last few months, she has applied
to over 100 jobs, without any luck.
Her savings have been exhausted, unemployment benefits are now her
only source of income, and she is worried about whether she can keep
her home.
Let's come together and give Lois a chance. Let's renew Emergency
Unemployment Compensation today.
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