Continue the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Program
http://www.epi.org/page/-/pdf/112910-uiextension.pdf
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable John Boehner
Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader of the United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader of the United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20515
November 29, 2010
Dear Mr. President, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, Congressman Boehner, and Senator McConnell:
Congress must decide whether to continue the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (EUC), a decision that will directly affect millions of families and the entire economy. Authorization for the additional benefits Congress has been providing since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 expires tomorrow, November 30, and millions of unemployed workers will soon be affected. I write you out of concern for the jobless, who through no fault of their own, cannot find work in an economy with only one job vacancy for every five unemployed workers, and who depend on EUC to pay their rent or mortgage, pay for groceries and gas, and pay for their heating bills and other utilities.
But I write also out of concern for the economy. Together with Lawrence Katz of Harvard University, I gathered the signatures of 33 prominent economists on the attached statement, which warns that letting the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program expire will weaken the economy by reducing the spending of the unemployed and overall consumer demand. All of us agree that EUC should be extended for another 12 months and that there is no danger that continuing to provide extended unemployment insurance benefits will materially raise overall unemployment. We also agree that deficit financing for EUC is prudent and will not contribute significantly to long-term deficits.
We hope that you act swiftly to renew these benefits, for the good of the economy and the well-being of millions of deserving Americans who depend on them.
Sincerely,
Lawrence Mishel President of the Economic Policy Institute
