Congresswoman Matsui Fights to Extend Unemployment Benefits; Urges Senate to Do the Same

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 1, 2010

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) continued her fight to help put Sacramento on the path to economic recovery by voting in favor H.R. 5618, the Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2010, which extends unemployment benefits for those who need it most. If enacted, this legislation would provide critical financial relief to Sacramento families who have been severely impacted by the recent recession.

I am pleased that the House of Representatives was able to pass this long over-due extension of unemployment benefits, and provide families in Sacramento and across the nation with the financial assistance they need to get through these difficult economic times, said Rep. Matsui. But it is both shameful and embarrassing that Republicans in the Senate have tried time and again to block the passage of an extension of these benefits, which has resulted in several failed attempts to pass this legislation. Never before has Congress allowed extended unemployment benefits to lapse while the unemployment rate was near 10 percent. The Senate must act swiftly to put in place the benefits that families who were laid off a direct result of the economic collapse need just to make ends meet.

The Senate is currently working on companion legislation to extend unemployment benefits. But without this extension, an estimated 1.7 million individuals will have lost their unemployment benefits by July 3, including an estimated 303,300 people in California alone. This means individuals exhausting their 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits over the last month, or exhausting any of the tiers of Federal EUC benefits during this time, are not eligible for emergency unemployment benefits.

We must all remember the sad fact that we are living in difficult times and that people are not looking for a hand out they are looking for a hand up - while they continue to look for employment opportunities, added Rep. Matsui.

H.R. 5618 was passed on Wednesday by a vote of 270-153. The legislation would extend the Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Program, which expired in early June, through November of this year, and retroactively restore those benefits lost. H.R. 5618 would also ensure that states do not cut the level of regular unemployment benefits when they receive these extended Federal benefits.