Himes Pushes Effort to Force Vote on Unemployment Insurance

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) signed a discharge petition today to require an immediate vote on a bill to restore unemployment insurance for the over two million Americans who have been cut off since the program expired in December. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act (H.R. 3546) extends emergency unemployment insurance through the end of the year for the nearly five million Americans looking for work.

“As we continue to recover from the worst economic recession in a lifetime, many of those hit hardest are still without work and struggling to put food on the table,” Himes said. “It is well past time for the House Majority to stop dragging their heels, and I will continue pushing my colleagues to bring an extension of unemployment insurance up for a vote immediately.”

Since the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program expired on Dec. 28, 2013, over two million long-term unemployed Americans, including 35,000 in Connecticut, have lost their unemployment insurance. Every week that Congress fails to extend the program, 72,000 more Americans are dropped from the program.