{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221030124/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-cosponsors-new-bill-to-preserve-assistance-for-jobseekers", "Senator Coons cosponsors new bill to preserve assistance for jobseekers", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, December 13, 2013\n                    CONTACT: Ian Koski at 202-224-5042\u00a0 \n\t\t\t\t\t Senator Coons cosponsors new bill to preserve assistance for jobseekers \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act would extend UI benefits for one year \n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tWASHINGTON \u2013 With 3,600 Delawareans scheduled to lose their federal unemployment insurance on December 28th and another 4,800 to follow within the next six months, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) is cosponsoring a bill to preserve vital assistance for jobseekers. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Extension Act of 2013 would provide relief for states and struggling families by extending federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits through 2014.\n\u201cAmericans who have lost their jobs should not be left to slip into poverty as they search for employment,\u201d Senator Coons said. \u201cUnemployment insurance provides jobseekers and their families with a lifeline, so they can maintain their financial stability and get back to work faster. It is unfortunate that the budget agreement reached by Senator Murray and Representative Ryan did not include an extension of UI benefits, but now Congress must act to ensure millions of Americans and thousands of Delawareans do not face unnecessary hardship. Preserving UI benefits is the right thing to do for our economy, our businesses, and our middle class, and I am glad to join my colleagues in this important effort.\u201d Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Budget Committee and the conference committee tasked with reconciling the budgets passed by the Senate and House of Representatives.\u00a0\nThe unemployment insurance system is a partnership between the federal government and state governments that provides a temporary weekly benefit to qualified workers who have lost their jobs and are seeking employment. The amount of that benefit is based in part on a worker\u2019s past earnings.\nFailure to preserve UI will hurt 1.3 million American families, who will be cut off at the end of the year, and nearly 1.9 million more who will be denied access to the emergency program during the first six months of next year.\u00a0If Congress does not renew the law, individuals who file for unemployment next year will qualify for state benefits only, which last a maximum of 26 weeks.\nThe bill was introduced by U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and is also supported by Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Similar legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.\nAlthough the economy has been expanding for over four years, unemployment remains unacceptably high.\u00a0A new\u00a0report\u00a0by the National Employment Law Project shows long-term unemployment remains higher than during any other downturn since the Great Depression, with 4.1 million job-seekers, or 36.1 percent of all the unemployed, remaining out of work for six months or more.\nThe Economic Policy Institute estimates that the failure to renew UI\u00a0could cost our economy 310,000 jobs in 2014.\nOver the years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found that extending UI is among the most cost-effective programs for reducing unemployment and stimulating the economy.\nLast month, the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities\u00a0reported: \u201cthe premature turn towards budget austerity since 2010 has been a drag on economic growth and job creation.\u00a0 Extending Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) would help offset that drag as well as reduce hardship among jobless workers and their families.\u00a0 In contrast, letting EUC expire would increase hardship and cost the economy jobs.\u201d\u00a0\nSenator Coons and 31 of his colleagues sent a letter to Senate leadership on December 6th calling for the continuation of federal unemployment insurance through next year.\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n                    \n        \n        \n\t\t\n                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags:\n                            \n                                \n                                Conference Committee,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Middle Class,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                families,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Labor,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Unemployment,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Poverty,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Jobs,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                employment,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Budget Committee,\u00a0\n                            \n                                \n                                Insurance", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221030124/http://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/releases/release/senator-coons-cosponsors-new-bill-to-preserve-assistance-for-jobseekers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7787388749420643, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}