[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 17549-17550]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

[[Page 17550]]

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LEVIN. More than 400 unemployed Americans have shared their story 
with us in the last 2 weeks. Here they are. They illustrate in no 
uncertain terms the urgent need for Congress to extend Federal 
unemployment insurance through 2012. Without action, 2 million 
Americans will lose their benefits by February, as shown in this chart. 
Two million Americans like Phil from Clinton Township. He wrote to us 
with a resolve common among the stories that we've received, and I 
quote:
  ``I am by no means unintelligent. I am by no means lazy. And I am by 
no means giving up. Without unemployment benefits, I will not be able 
to pay my bills (including my cell phone so I may receive calls from 
potential employers) and finding something to eat will become 
increasingly difficult.''
  Congress has never allowed the Federal program to expire with the 
unemployment rate as high as it remains today, and we must not start 
now. We must act now.

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