Washington, D.C. – Today Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and other Washington state Democrats are working up to the last minute to get the U.S. House of Representatives to extend unemployment benefits for displaced workers. As it is now, benefits for 800,000 workers will expire at the end of this year. The U.S. House has one last opportunity to help hard working families.
"Without this extension, some families will have to choose between buying Christmas presents for their kids or paying January’s mortgage. Other families won’t be able to afford either," Larsen explained.
Larsen emphasized, "It doesn’t have to be this way."
"Unemployment benefits are not a handout, they are an economic tool," Larsen said. "Friday is our last chance to get something done in this lame duck session. It would be irresponsible to not take advantage of this opportunity to help our constituents and our ailing economy," he added.
The U.S. Senate unanimously agreed that unemployment benefits for displaced workers should be extended 13 weeks in these tough economic times. The U.S. House has the opportunity to pass the same legislation this Friday before adjourning sine die. House leadership must first agree to place it on the House agenda. Larsen and others wrote a letter to leadership stressing the need for the House to act.
"The 107th Congress must not end, with members heading home for the holidays, while thousands do not know if they will make it through winter," he wrote to House leaders. "American workers, their families, and the U.S. economy need your help."
If the House acts to continue the full Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program, benefits that would end Dec. 28 of this year, will continue another three months, until March 29, 2003. Without action, in addition to the 800,000 Americans who will lose their benefits on Dec. 28, an additional 90,000 people will lose them each following week.
