On the recordJanuary 6, 2014
we have the opportunity today to take care of some very important unfinished business. We left town last year without ensuring that millions of American jobseekers could retain access to vital unemployment insurance. I hope we correct this and restore the Federal unemployment program, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which was allowed to expire on December 28. Unemployment insurance has helped tens of millions of Americans weather the storm of the difficult economy over the last several years. It has helped workers put food on the table, kept a roof over their heads, and kept millions out of poverty. But because Congress has so far failed to extend it, 1.3 million Americans were abruptly cut off from their vital unemployment insurance the week after Christmas. And over the course of this year, another 3.6 million Americans will be cut off from unemployment insurance as they exhaust their State benefits and have nowhere else to turn. That is a total of 4.9 million Americans--including 35,500 Iowans. They have spent 6 months or more trying to find new work, going out and pounding the pavement day after day, but must now worry about how they and their families and children are going to survive. How will they keep up with their heating bill, their rent, their car payment, or their mortgage?…
