Will Boehner And The Rest Of Congress Give The 99ers Any Sort Of Chance

by Jen Tue Mar 15, 2011 12:21 pm

Will Boehner And The Rest Of Congress Give The 99ers Any Sort Of Chance
http://dailynewspulse.com/will-boehner-and-the-rest-of-congress-give-the-99ers-any-sort-of-chance/2211216/

Last week’s unemployment numbers reflect the harsh reality that still
exists – while the economy is moving in the right direction, too many
workers are still looking for jobs. For every available job opening,
there are 4.7 unemployed workers. And many of those workers have been
unemployed for a year or longer. The unemployment rate does not
discriminate – the challenges that our constituents face in our
districts are just as difficult as the challenges that your constituents
are facing in western Ohio, central Virginia and central Michigan.

Asking Congress To Reconsider
We all have a shared obligation to help our neediest and most
vulnerable populations in their hour of greatest need. The letter we
sent you last month requested your assistance in extending emergency
benefits for long-term unemployed workers who had exhausted their
eligibility. In addition, we requested that these benefits be
considered under the emergency designation of PAYGO spending rules, a
provision that would exempt emergencies from these rules. We are
disappointed that you disagreed with our belief that this is a true
state of emergency for these workers. As we outlined in our previous
letter, we believe there is a strong moral and economic case to extend
these emergency benefits. Economic experts believe that unemployment
benefits provide a stimulative impact to our economy by helping to drive
consumer spending. So not only is providing these benefits the right
thing to do, but it is sound economic policy. To be clear, we maintain
our position that this legislation deserves to exempt from PAYGO
spending rules under the aforementioned emergency designation, but we
are committed to exhausting every possible avenue to pass this bill.

Adding An Additional 14 Weeks
Adding an additional 14 weeks to the Emergency Unemployment
Compensation Program is estimated to cost up to $16 billion. We want to
work with you to identify how best to finance this legislation and
ensure its swift passage. We request a meeting with you as soon as
possible to discuss alternative ways to address the costs associated
with H.R. 589, The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. We hope
that you share our urgent desire to move forward on passing this
legislation. There are dire consequences for millions of long-term
unemployed workers who are fighting every day to make ends meet so they
can support their families. It is time to get serious about taking care
of our long-term unemployed workers who continue to suffer. We look
forward to your response and are hopeful that we can meet with you in
the near future to discuss the importance of this bill and our plan to
pass it. Thank you for your time and consideration of this request.