Blog: Demanding a Vote on Extending Unemployment Insurance

Statement

I recently met a young mother at a roundtable discussion I hosted on long-term unemployment. During this harsh winter, she would return from a long day of job hunting, prepare dinner for her two young children and then jump into bed to eat together under the covers. You see, since losing her unemployment insurance, she's forced to choose between paying her heating bill or her rent.

I also met a woman in Highland Park who lost her job at a travel agency, and now she and her husband dip into the savings they put aside for the children's education to make ends meet.

This is now the reality for more than 2 million people nationwide--more than 150,000 in Illinois--and yet there has not been a single vote in the House to extend unemployment insurance.

Partisanship and gridlock have already cost millions their emergency unemployment insurance. Furthermore, it's been estimated that failing to act will cost our economy 240,000 jobs this year.

Refusing to extend unemployment insurance hurts families, it hurts businesses, it hurts communities and it hurts our economy.

That's why I introduced a measure last month to force an end to the gridlock on extending unemployment insurance. More than 190 of my colleagues joined me to demand a vote in the House. The next day, the Senate announced a preliminary deal to extend this critical insurance, and now, the Senate has passed an extension bill. The time has come for the House to act.

I believe extending unemployment insurance is not just smart policy; it's the right thing to do.

I respect that some of my colleagues have a different view about the importance of unemployment insurance, and I respect their right to vote "no." But not allowing the House of Representatives a vote on the matter is simply unacceptable.

I know the path ahead will not be easy, but our communities deserve better than this partisan gridlock.

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