On the recordJanuary 9, 2014
I, too, rise to urge the Republican leaders to allow a vote on extending unemployment insurance benefits to the thousands of workers in my central New York district and the 1.3 million workers across the country who have lost these benefits. Because Congress has failed to act, hundreds of thousands of families are not having a happy new year. This important relief provides a lifeline to people who worked hard, they played by the rules, and they are out of work through no fault of their own. By providing this vital but temporary assistance to unemployed workers, this program ensures workers and their families are able to make ends meet during their job searches. Extending unemployment insurance should not be a partisan issue. In fact, this program was signed into law by President George W. Bush and has been reauthorized several times by members of both political parties during the time of economic recovery. If there are reforms needed to help get people back to work, then let's make those reforms, but don't toss out the whole program. Mr. Speaker, our economy is still recovering and thousands of hardworking central New Yorkers are still struggling to find a job. Failure to extend unemployment insurance hurts the economy across central New York and across this country. The Senate has already taken bipartisan action on extending unemployment insurance. It is time for the House to do the same. Mr. Speaker, I just don't understand why we don't just have a vote.…
