[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3599]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION EXTENSION ACT

  (Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, 2 months ago today, emergency unemployment 
benefits expired for over 1 million Americans, including 20,000 
veterans, and yet this House still has not taken up legislation to 
provide these workers and their families necessary relief. That is 
shameful.
  I rise to ask immediate action on my legislation, the Emergency 
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, which provides a 3-month 
extension of benefits. 183 Members of the House--over 90 percent of the 
Democratic Caucus--have signed on to my bill.
  Constituents from across my district and across the country have been 
sharing heartbreaking stories of hardship and pain because these 
benefits have expired. One constituent, VeraMae of Lynn, Massachusetts, 
wrote to me and said:

       I am one of the people whose benefits expired at the end of 
     the last year. My husband and I have tapped out all of our 
     savings, and I'm beside myself with worry wondering how to 
     make the little that we have remaining last longer. It is a 
     mistake to eliminate this crucial safety net for those of us 
     struggling to get back on our feet.

  We should not leave VeraMae and others just like her out in the cold 
another day longer.
  If the moral imperative to act isn't enough, Mr. Speaker, perhaps we 
should consider the economic benefits of extending unemployment 
insurance. In fact, economists agree that unemployment insurance is one 
of the best ways to spur economic growth, delivering $1.52 in economic 
activity for every dollar spent.
  This House should pass that bill immediately.

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