Congresswoman Matsui Releases New Analysis Showing the Growing Number of Californians Cut Off from Unemployment Insurance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 24, 2014

CONTACT: JONELLE TRIMMER
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Congresswoman Matsui Releases New Analysis Showing the Growing Number of Californians Cut Off from Unemployment Insurance

Urges House Republican leadership to allow a vote on extending unemployment insurance to help more than 263,000 Californians looking for work

CA - Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-06) issued the following statement regarding a new report from the Ways and Means Committee Democrats showing that by the end of this week, more than 1.6 million Americans will have been cut off from their unemployment insurance, including more than 263,000 in California.

This estimate is based on the average number of Americans looking for work who are losing their unemployment insurance each week. Nationwide, nearly 72,000 people are losing unemployment insurance, on average, every week. This number is in addition to the 1.3 million Americans who lost their unemployment insurance on December 28:

"It was completely unacceptable that House Republican leadership adjourned last week without extending unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who are actively looking for jobs. With every week of inaction, thousands more Americans lose their unemployment insurance, harming these families and our economy as a whole. According to this new report, the number of Californians cut off from this economic lifeline will soon climb to more than 263,000.

"Our economy is on the road to recovery; however, there are still far too many people struggling to find work. It is far past time for House Republicans to join with Democrats to extend unemployment insurance to help these Americans support their families during their crisis of unemployment."

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