Statement on Senate Passage of Unemployment Insurance Extension Bill

Washington, D.C. -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement on the Senate's bipartisan passage of the Unemployment Insurance extension bill.

"I am proud to join in urging Speaker Boehner to bring up the bipartisan, Senate-passed Unemployment Insurance extension bill for a vote this week.

We need a vote for more than 2.36 million Americans who have lost their long term unemployment benefits, including 153,400 Illinoisans."

We need a vote for people like Joseph from Chicago, who says, 'The unemployment benefit is my lifeline. It means that I put food on the table, have a roof over my head, and pay for phone/internet that I need to continue my job search.'”

We need a vote for Jennie from Morton Grove, in my district, who says, 'I am not going to be able to afford the house that I have, pay my bills, make sure my kids are fed, keep my vehicle...I need this money to survive.'”

And for the women from Belleville who wrote, 'We had to sell our home of 23 years so we wouldn’t lose it. We now live in a used mobile home. I’m 56 years old and nobody wants me anymore. I fill out applications every day online but never hear anything.'”

Passing this bill will help these families avoid financial disaster – and it will restore $300 million lost to my state’s economy over the past three months alone."

It’s time for a vote. We must not go home for two weeks without getting the job done."

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