[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE EXTENSION

  (Mr. LEWIS of Georgia asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, recently Atlanta Magazine gave a 
voice to the jobless in America. The words of one person speaks for 
millions. ``Unemployment dehumanized the real person,'' one American 
writes. ``You lose the essence of your identity and value. You become a 
number, a label, a resume, a failure, a defect, desperate, poor, and 
separated from society. Being unemployed is to be silently 
disrespected, on par with being homeless, mentally ill, or addicted.''
  Today we speak for millions of Americans who will be pushed to the 
edges of our society, locked out and left behind, if we fail to act.
  The jobless in America elected us so that they would have a voice in 
these debates. They are not points on a graph or numbers on a page. 
They are human beings. We must not abandon the people of this Nation. 
We must pass the unemployment insurance extension and do it without 
delay.
  Wake up, Congress. Wake up, and do what is right.

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