PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Tell Your Senators to Vote for an Emergency Extension of UI Benefits
  1. Signatures
    1,834 out of 2,500
    Petitioning
    1. The U.S. Senate
  2. Created By
    Kathryn Baer
    Washington, DC
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

An estimated 1.7 million jobless workers have lost their unemployment insurance benefits because legislation to preserve them has been blocked in the Senate.

The number will continue to rise unless/until the Senate approves an extension of the extra weeks of benefits that were helping jobless workers and their families weather this deep recession. By the end of July, it will total 3.2 million.

The House of Representatives has passed emergency legislation (H.R. 5618) to extend the now-expired UI benefits. The bill now awaits action in the Senate. Supporters will need 60 votes to end debate so that a substantive can be taken.

Opponents say that extended UI benefits should be "paid for" by using funds that were approved to support job-creating projects. This would be robbing Peter to pay Paul. As in the past, the UI benefits extension should handled as emergency legislation.

So urge your Senators to vote for H.R. 5618 as-is and as soon as possible.

Photo credit: Editor B

Recent Signatures

Vote for an Emergency Extension of Unemployment Benefits

Dear Senator:

As you probably know, the House of Representatives recently passed emergency legislation (H.R. 5618) to extend unemployment insurance benefits. As a constituent, I urge you to support this legislation.

By the time you come back to Washington, well over 2 million jobless workers will have lost their UI benefits due to delays in approving an extension. The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the economy is not creating nearly enough jobs to put them back to work. And more job losses are predicted in months to come.

The jobs crisis in this country is an economic and human emergency. It should be treated as such, just as Congress has treated past extensions of UI benefits during periods of high unemployment.

So please vote for H.R. 5618.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Press Inquiries