[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H5406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE EXTENSION
(Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I follow the gentleman from New York. I rise
today because I think it is absolutely unconscionable that after more
than 6 months the House Republicans continue to fail to act to extend
unemployment benefits.
There are more than 3 million Americans who have lost their jobs
through no fault of their own who are waiting for Congress to do
something for them. I have heard from many of them, my constituents,
about their struggles because of Congress' failure to act.
Lily of Linden, New Jersey, has been out of work for 2 years. She and
her husband have dipped into their entire savings just to get by.
Because of her age and her illness, she has found it increasingly
harder to find gainful employment. It has come to this sad point, Mr.
Speaker, that Lily can no longer afford her medicine, and her family
may soon be homeless.
By failing to act, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have
coldly turned their backs on millions of Americans and people like
Lily. Turning their backs on people who have elected them is simply
unacceptable, and I will not stay silent.
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