Supporting the Long-Term Unemployed

By Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson

The failure of Congress to extend unemployment benefits to our fellow citizens who are unable to find work has wreaked havoc in the lives of those individuals, and has disrupted our nation’s economic growth.  Nationally, approximately 2.3 million Americans are going without any assistance. That includes nearly 140,000 in the state of Texas.  In my Congressional district, nearly 20,000 people are impacted.

When our country faced a severe economic downturn in 2008, a compassionate Congress passed legislation that created the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program, providing 13 weeks of benefits to unemployed workers who had exhausted regular unemployment benefits.  The extension provided a buffer to those men and women who lost their jobs due to the closing of companies or job layoffs.

As the economy recovered, the program was extended a number of times. President Obama signed legislation in January of 2013 which extended the program through January of 2014.   However, House Republicans refused to extend the program, throwing the lives of millions of people into trauma and disarray.

According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, a highly-regarded financial research organization, the average American family has only $3,800 in their savings account. Only 38 percent of American adults have an emergency fund, they reported in a 2013 study.

The Democratically controlled Senate has repeatedly attempted to restore the program. Recently, a bi-partisan measure emerged from that chamber extending benefits for five months. The House leadership has refused to bring the matter to the floor for consideration, even thought there is some thought that the majority of its members would agree to the Senate proposal.

All of us know that the loss of employment has far-reaching consequences. Financial savings, if any, are exhausted, mortgage and rental payments are late, food budgets are curtailed and entertainment activities are eliminated when families find themselves in economic peril.  In some case, families fall apart. Certainly, Republicans in the House are aware of the consequences of their refusal to act and do what is morally sound and just.

There is neither need nor time for futile debates regarding this issue. Delays and inaction are exacerbating an inflammatory situation.  If the benefits are not restored, other workers who rely on the dollars that are spent by the unemployed as they search for work may well find themselves without jobs.

Previously employed workers that received unemployment benefits prior to the lapse in the program paid unemployment taxes all of their working lives.  Many of these people had contributed into the fund for three and four decades. They had done all of the right things with their lives. Their contributions benefited the American economy.

Now is the time for House Republicans to do what is right for the unemployed, and for members of their families.  The treatment that they are receiving is callous, short-sighted and un-American.  It must not continue.