Mr. President, I also received some e-mail and letters from Kentuckians. It is a great State. It is the ancestral home of many Durbins--one hailed from Sunfish, KY, which is a pretty tiny town, I am told, and came up north to Illinois. It is a beautiful State, and I have enjoyed visiting there many times. A lady named Joy from Florence, KY, contacted me and said: Hello, I am 50 years old and I got let go a year and a half ago from my job because I was getting older and they could pay less for the younger workers. . . . Most places I applied to won't hire by experience--they want a college degree. I have an elderly mother and handicapped child. I am behind in all my bills and if there is not another extension I will not be able to pay any bills. I am hoping you will put through another extension--hopefully things will improve come spring. A letter from someone named J.R.--didn't give a hometown, said he is from Kentucky. I will not read some portions of this letter, but I will read this part: I would like to say I am unemployed and [unemployment insurance] has allowed me to keep my home etc. There still are no jobs that will allow me to live on. I have . . . cut back to just the basic needs--the Internet next. And then I will start selling my belongings to get by. I sit and wonder if everyone on unemployment gets cut off, do the Senate and Congress realize the war here in the United States will be worse than the one we are in overseas? There will be so much stealing and . . .…
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I’m going to withdraw this amendment, but I’m going to ask my colleagues be honest about it. I hope that we think about this long and hard.
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