Unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline for those struggling to find work. Letting it expire now, while too many families still are struggling, is the wrong thing to do.
Call Congress and tell the person who answers the phone: "Please pass the Senate's bill to extend unemployment insurance."
Talking Points
The Unemployment Insurance program serves as a lifeline for millions of unemployed Americans and their families who are now at the mercy of the worst job market since the Great Depression.
Since the unemployment insurance system was created, Congress never has cut back on federally funded extended benefits when unemployment was over 7.2%
Unemployment benefits have kept 3.2 million Americans (including nearly 1 million children) from falling into poverty in 2010 alone.
Over 45% of all unemployed workers - more than 6 million people, have been out of work for more than six-months. For nearly two years, over 40% of the unemployed have been jobless for more than six months.
The federal UI programs saved or created 1.1 million jobs as of the fourth quarter of 2009 alone.
Unemployment benefits are the most effective form of stimulus spending in an economy which is not growing jobs and therefore experiencing low consumer demand. New research shows that the current federal UI programs provide $2 in economic stimulus for every $1 in unemployment benefits circulating in the economy. Were these programs to lapse at the end of this year, that's the equivalent of pulling nearly $90 billion out of the economy in 2012.
This is no time for extremist agendas or playing politics with something so crucial. Millions of hardworking Americans-nearly 2 million in January alone, and over 6 million in 2012, including many of our members-will be cut off from the emergency lifeline that is unemployment insurance, unless Congress acts. These are Americans who've been laid off and desperately search for work, but the jobs are just not there.
