Marcy Kaptur: “It is un-American that House Republicans are refusing to hold a vote on extending benefits for Americans who have worked…”

“It is un-American that House Republicans are refusing to hold a vote on extending benefits for Americans who have worked and are now unemployed. It is particularly astounding, with a Speaker from Ohio, where unemployment has just ticked up, that the Republican Party refuses to bring up a vote on extending unemployment benefits. Since 1948, this is the first time that Congress has allowed extended unemployment benefits to expire with unemployment rates as high as they are. Long-term rates, especially among older workers--people who have worked their entire lives--are at the highest levels and doggedly resistant to amelioration. More than 1.3 million Americans, including nearly 40,000 Ohioans, have lost benefits because of House Republicans. If House Republicans get their way, by the end of this year, 5 million Americans and their families will have been denied unemployment benefits--people who have worked their entire lives. Speaker Boehner, that includes more than 128,000 Ohio families being denied benefits they have rightfully earned. My office has been receiving call after call from constituents who don't know why they lost their benefits and asking what they can do now. In one particular case, a woman put in the required years for her job and was ready to retire. She believed in work. She valued work. She spent her life doing it. Unfortunately, suddenly, just before she put her papers in to retire, she was laid off.…”