On the recordJanuary 6, 2014
on December 28, 1.3 million Americans lost their extended unemployment benefits. They are the first wave of what will be more than 3 million other Americans. These people have worked, they have qualified for unemployment insurance, they need help, and we have to help them. If we don't do that, not only will these families suffer, the economy will suffer. The CBO estimated we will lose 200,000 jobs if we don't extend unemployment benefits, and 0.2 percent of growth. If we want to help working families--people who qualify because they worked and have to continue to look for work to be qualified--and our economy, then vote to at least let us go forward. Give us 3 months to work on issues, funding, and anything else, but don't throw these people off a cliff and leave them without anything. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
