[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

  (Mr. CARDENAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, less than 2 weeks ago, more than 1 million 
Americans lost access to unemployment insurance benefits. Another 3.5 
million will be impacted if Congress doesn't act. American families 
will lose that tiny amount of money, that small amount of money that 
keeps food on the table for millions of Americans.
  Has unemployment decreased? Well, it has decreased a bit. But 
unfortunately, unemployment is still too high for the people of the San 
Fernando Valley and many places around our country. Californians have 
already lost more than $64 million in unemployment income just in this 
past week.
  This is unacceptable. We cannot balance the budget on the backs of 
Americans struggling to buy food for their families; and, 
unfortunately, the budget that was passed recently did just that.
  We must act now and pass an unemployment insurance extension bill 
immediately. We need to continue the opportunity for these millions of 
American families to be able to put food on the table. That is the 
America that we grew up in, and that is the America that we have to 
figure out how to keep going forward.
  An extension of unemployment insurance occurred under President 
George W. Bush, continues under President Obama, but this Congress 
needs to act to make sure we continue now.

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