Michelle Wu: “Mr. Speaker, thousands and thousands of Oregonians who have worked hard, played by the rules, frequently gotten a good…”

“Mr. Speaker, thousands and thousands of Oregonians who have worked hard, played by the rules, frequently gotten a good education, and worked hard all their lives are currently without work. Many of them will be losing their unemployment benefits on December 28. The legislation before us is hardly a perfect piece of legislation, but it will get a lot of folks over the hump until we can come back to this piece of legislation in the new congressional session. I hope that we will be able to do that. I have legislation before this Chamber, H.R. 5731, which would not only extend the unemployment assistance benefit program, it would also extend the period of time in which any individual could receive assistance. I think that is a very necessary step to take at this point. There are two kinds of folks, at least, who are hurting out there. I have seen so many of their faces as I have gone around communities in Oregon and in my town hall meetings. They are people who have exhausted their benefits, their 26 weeks' worth; and they are folks who, without an extension of this program, would not receive any assistance whatsoever. We need to help both groups, and I hope that we are able to come back in the new Congress and address the needs of both groups. However, tiding one group over through the holidays I believe is a necessary step. I do intend to support the legislation.”