[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED A VOTE ON EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, it has been 1 month since the Senate acted 
in a bipartisan fashion to pass emergency unemployment extension.
  Just hours after the Senate acted, I introduced a bill, H.R. 4415, 
the same language passed by the Senate. It is fully paid for, would not 
increase the deficit, unlike the hundreds of billions of dollars in 
permanent tax breaks that the Republican leadership intends to bring to 
the floor this week.
  A month later, we still have no vote scheduled for extending 
unemployment insurance for millions of Americans--no vote, despite the 
fact that over 150 Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, have 
cosponsored H.R. 4415; no vote, despite the fact that 2.6 million 
Americans have already lost this important benefit and 2.8 million will 
have lost that benefit by the end of the month, almost 3 million 
Americans; no vote, with 72,000 individuals, hardworking Americans, 
every week at risk of losing their unemployment insurance if we don't 
act.
  Helping jobless Americans who are actively looking for work is not 
only the right thing to do, but we have done this before. We have done 
this under Democratic administrations and Republican administrations. 
It is not a handout. It is simply a lifeline to help those folks who 
have lost their job stay above ground, above water, before they get 
their next job.
  This should not be a partisan issue; yet, yesterday, the Republican 
leadership said no to letting some of these jobless Americans testify 
at a Capitol Hill hearing. We were locked out of the room that we had 
requested.
  2.8 million jobless Americans, they may be invisible to the House 
Republican leadership, but they will not be silenced.
  While they were locked out of the hearing room at the Rayburn House 
Office Building, I and other Members joined these unemployed Americans 
yesterday, went to the steps of the Capitol, and listened to them as 
they told their stories. This is their Capitol; it is not ours. It 
belongs to them, and their voices deserve to be heard.
  I also asked hardworking Americans who are unemployed to tweet and 
email me their stories. My newsfeed and inbox was flooded with stories 
of people just trying to get by, struggling to pay their rent, 
struggling to feed their families as they continue to be denied a vote 
in the House of Representatives to renew unemployment insurance.
  They have continued to be denied their voice in the House of 
Representatives, and this is the people's House. So what I would like 
to do with my remaining time is just tell a few of the stories that 
have come in. Lynette B. says:

       We just received our foreclosure letter on our home. I am 
     49 years old, and this is certainly not where I see myself at 
     this age. I am educated, and I have been applying to no less 
     than three jobs per day, only to not get a reply to most of 
     them, or else I am overqualified.

  Jennifer S., this is Jennifer and her family:

       I never thought I would be in this position, unemployed and 
     worrying about feeding my two growing boys, 14 and 9. I have 
     had to go to food pantries to keep food on the table. I am 
     behind in my car payment and the utilities since my 
     unemployment benefits stopped December 28.

  Laura B. writes:

       I need the extension, so I can afford to keep the Internet 
     on to look for jobs and afford the gas to go to interviews. 
     It's very hard out there, and there are so many unemployed 
     people looking for each job, that the chances are slim.

  Angela M. writes:

       Please help with UI. I have lost almost everything, sold my 
     car, pawned my wedding rings, selling furniture to keep a 
     rented roof over my kids' heads.

  Elaine G. writes:

       I live with my 27-year-old daughter and sleep on an air 
     mattress. I have no phone. I complete job applications now 
     and ask employers to contact me through email. I expect, any 
     day, that my car will be repossessed, as soon as the finance 
     company is able to locate the car.

  Carol C. writes:

       Come June 1, I will have to leave my apartment. My car, 
     phone, Internet will be gone. I have no money for essentials 
     like good toilet paper and soap. How does somebody find a 
     job?

  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to raise these voices. These 
are real Americans. They are real stories.
  Some of the questions we face in this Congress are complicated. This 
one is simple. Take up H.R. 4415, and we can take away the pain that so 
many Americans--almost 3 million Americans--are facing.

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