FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2014
Contact: Justin Unga
Phone: 202-225-2836
Email: Justin.Unga@mail.house.gov
Clark Pushes for Immediate Action on Unemployment Insurance Extension
Washington, D.C. -- Congresswoman Katherine Clark has co-sponsored legislation which will extend the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program for an additional year. The vital program expired on December 28, 2013 for 1.3 million job-seekers.
Early Tuesday morning, the Senate voted to proceed to debate on a 3 month extension of emergency benefits.
“House Republicans are choosing politics over hardworking families by allowing a vital safety net to expire for more than a hundred-thousand displaced workers in Massachusetts. I’m calling on Speaker Boehner to allow an up or down vote on extending unemployment insurance in the House,” said Clark.
“House Republicans are failing our middle class families. While America’s economy is on the mend, this recovery has left millions of American families behind. The abrupt expiration of long-term unemployment insurance for those still affected by the Great Recession has cut off a vital lifeline for 141,000 people in Massachusetts who are actively looking for work. In addition, cutting off these benefits will actually result in additional job losses and a drop in GDP, further jeopardizing our fragile recovery.
“The time is now for Congress to take action. It’s unconscionable that Congress would sit on the sidelines instead of bringing this common sense measure to a vote. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing and take immediate action to restore the emergency unemployment insurance for thousands of families in Massachusetts.”
Recent reports have determined that allowing the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program to expire may have detrimental effects to our nation’s economic recovery. A December 2013 report by the Department of Labor indicates that failing to extend benefits would “put a dent in job-seekers’ incomes, reducing demand and costing 240,000 jobs in 2014.” Further, “estimates from the Congressional Budget Office and JP Morgan suggest that without an extension of EUC GDP will be .2 to .4 percentage points lower.”
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