[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 295-296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE 50-YEAR WAR ON POVERTY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Speier) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I am here to speak about unemployment 
insurance and the extension of it to my Republican colleagues. But 
there is no one over here to listen, so maybe they will listen to some 
renowned Republicans talk about what is really important.
  How about Newt Gingrich, who recently said, ``I think every 
Republican should embrace the Pope's core critique that you do not want 
to live on a planet with billionaires and people who do not have any 
food?''
  Or how about John Feehery, a Republican strategist who said, ``What 
does the Republican Party actually believe in? What is its purpose? Is 
it just to have unbridled capitalism without any moral core?''
  Mr. Speaker, this 50-year war on poverty has faced setbacks under the 
leadership of both parties, but the GOP-led House seems to be actively 
engaged in a war on the war on poverty. Congress' inaction has cut off 
1.3 million people from unemployment insurance after Christmas and, 
unless renewed, will cut benefits for another 1.9 million who are 
eligible in 2014.
  Some of my colleagues across the aisle have claimed that this is just 
politics, that unemployment insurance was ``intended to be a temporary 
solution to a very temporary crisis.'' Well, here's a news flash. We 
have been in this crisis since 2008. This is not temporary. This is 
long-term and it is chronic, and it has been caused by the greed of 
billionaires of the likes that we have seen on Wall Street. This is a 
personal nightmare for many of the constituents of my colleagues across 
the aisle. Some of their constituents have written to my office because 
they think their Representative is blind to how they are struggling.
  Now, Margaret Heffernan is a renowned speaker, and she talks about 
mindless blindness. And in many respects, that is what I think we are 
engaged in here, mindless blindness. So here are some of the stories of 
those impacted by the loss of unemployment insurance who live in 
districts of my Republican colleagues, because maybe they will hear me 
and think about who is being hurt by playing politics.
  Payne Springs, Texas, resident Linda Mrosko shared her story with me 
on my congressional Facebook page. Linda was 60 years old when her 
legal secretary job was eliminated. With more than 40 years of work 
experience under her belt--this is not someone sitting on a couch at 
home--40 years of experience as a paralegal secretary, she believed 
unemployment insurance would protect her if she lost her job. Even 
while caring for her 80-year-old mother with breast cancer, Linda 
continued to look for work but got very few interviews. Her 91-year-old 
father then fell ill and died, but Linda continued to look for work, 
even while in mourning and caring for her sick mother. The few 
interviews Linda does get, she is surrounded by people in their 
twenties and thirties and thinks that her age might be keeping her from 
securing a job.
  ``My unemployment ended on December 28. I have no savings. I haven't 
paid rent yet, or electricity, or the car payment, or the phone bill 
because I don't have enough money to make those payments,'' she wrote 
to me.
  Well, Linda, I hope your Republican Congressman reaches out to you 
immediately to explain to you in his own words why you shouldn't have 
your unemployment insurance extended after being employed for 40 years 
in this country.

[[Page 296]]

  Unemployment isn't a temporary problem for Daniel Burrow of 
Beauregard, Alabama. Daniel just hit his 26th week of filed 
unemployment. He lost his job in the auto industry in 2012 while he was 
on medical leave. The 45-year-old has exhausted all his unemployment 
benefits and applied for more than 50 jobs with no luck. His wife 
worries how the family will afford gas for Daniel to go job hunting or 
how the family will pay for necessities not covered by food stamps.
  In Florida, 49-year-old Jim Lanzerio can barely pay his bills while 
he raises his 17-year-old daughter on his own. His unemployment 
insurance will run out in February, and he wonders why Congress cannot 
reach a deal on extending Federal emergency unemployment insurance. He 
has been looking for a job every day since early October and is ``not 
sitting back and waiting. I would go back to work immediately if 
someone offered me a job.''
  This is more than politics for 70,000 individuals in Florida who 
already lost their unemployment insurance. These are just three 
stories. There are 1.3 million more that could be shared here today of 
people who have lost their unemployment insurance on December 28.
  Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's announcing 
a war on poverty. The real question is: Why are our colleagues waging a 
war on the war on poverty?

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