[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 304]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TAKE ACTION ON EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  (Mr. MAFFEI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise to urge the Republican leaders 
to allow a vote on extending unemployment insurance benefits to the 
thousands of workers in my central New York district and the 1.3 
million workers across the country who have lost these benefits.
  Because Congress has failed to act, hundreds of thousands of families 
are not having a happy new year. This important relief provides a 
lifeline to people who worked hard, they played by the rules, and they 
are out of work through no fault of their own. By providing this vital 
but temporary assistance to unemployed workers, this program ensures 
workers and their families are able to make ends meet during their job 
searches.
  Extending unemployment insurance should not be a partisan issue. In 
fact, this program was signed into law by President George W. Bush and 
has been reauthorized several times by members of both political 
parties during the time of economic recovery. If there are reforms 
needed to help get people back to work, then let's make those reforms, 
but don't toss out the whole program.
  Mr. Speaker, our economy is still recovering and thousands of 
hardworking central New Yorkers are still struggling to find a job. 
Failure to extend unemployment insurance hurts the economy across 
central New York and across this country. The Senate has already taken 
bipartisan action on extending unemployment insurance. It is time for 
the House to do the same.
  Mr. Speaker, I just don't understand why we don't just have a vote. 
It would help the economy, and it would help our families.

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