Political Quotes

“Thank you very much, Congressman Pocan. Thank you for leading this discussion. The discussion about extending the emergency unemployment compensation program is such an important topic. Last week, the country marked a troubling milestone. The number of Americans who lost their emergency unemployment insurance hit 2 million. Thousands more will lose this lifeline every week if we do not extend this critical benefit. The impact of losing unemployment benefits is immediate and devastating to our constituents. I recently spoke to a constituent in Oregon who was laid off from a large employer in my district. His unemployment benefits ended early this year when the program was cut off. Since then, unfortunately, things have gone from bad to worse. He has been in his home for about 10 years, and now he is in default because he cannot pay his mortgage. I want to thank our colleague, Congressman Matt Cartwright, for leading the effort to provide my constituents and yours the opportunity to get a bit of relief. He is sponsoring the Stop Foreclosures Due to Congressional Dysfunction Act. That would put a 6-month moratorium on foreclosures of Federally-backed mortgages for individuals who have exhausted their unemployment benefits. I have to say this is the least that we can do for our constituents who are still suffering because this House refuses to allow an ``up-or- down'' vote on extending unemployment compensation. My constituent is actively looking for work.…”