Open Letter To Congress And The President From The Long-Term Unemployed

We, the unemployed, are writing to you today very concerned about the availability of jobs in our country. There is an epidemic of poverty in this nation and we, the jobless, are victims in this Great Recession. As you know, each and every jobless American who is eligible to receive unemployment insurance is receiving this benefit because the state’s department of labor has deemed that the individual was laid off due to no fault of their own.

The long-term unemployed are those who have been hit hardest by this recession. We did not cause the financial collapse. We did not cause jobs to go overseas. We are not the cause for the current lack of jobs in our communities. Each and every one of us is desperately searching for work and are unable to find work.

We are writing to you today thankful for the unemployment extensions already authorized by Congress and signed by the President. We thank Congress and the President for the recent jobs bill and the recovery act that was passed last year. We realize that had these actions not been taken, the situation with unemployment could have been much worse.

However, we have a short fall that only federal government can solve. The unemployed hate to be so dependent on government. We would all prefer jobs rather than petitioning to Congress and telephoning our representatives and making pleas for another extension of unemployment insurance.

The long-term unemployed truly understand this Great Recession. We depend on funding from EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation).
For many, this is the only lifeline we have for income. It is the only way we can make our rent/mortgage payments, pay for food, clothing, medicines, and utilities and keep our gas tanks full so that we can go to our jobs centers each week and apply for work. We depend on EUC to provide assistance to us so that we can search for work and keep our telephone lines open so a potential employer can contact us.

With unemployment still in double digits in some areas (and underemployment much higher), surely you understand the need for Congress to extend Emergency Unemployment Compensation beyond the maximum of 99 weeks.

The jobless Americans are good, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens who are in poverty and will lose more than they have already lost if Congress does not act soon.

WE ARE URGING CONGRESS TO ACT ON THIS NATIONAL EMERGENCY AND/OR ASKING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO ISSUE AN EXECUTIVE ORDER EXTENDING EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

There have already been over 2,000 unemployed Americans who signed a petition asking for a Tier 5 EUC.

Congress has not acted yet on this issue. We are now asking that the Congress and the President please consider a longer-term extension of benefits for this longer-term problem the nation has.

To be clear, we are asking Congress to add up to eight additional months to EUC. Unemployment is a very long-standing issue that will not be resolved this year. In addition to worrying about how to make ends meet with EUC, the unemployed in America should not have to worry about members of Congress playing politics with their only livelihood and source of income in this horrible economic climate.

The unemployed heard Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky say to them, “Tough Sh__”. The unemployed also heard Tom Delay making the obscene comment that the unemployed are jobless because they choose to be.

Dear Mr. President and Senators of this great nation, the unemployed are not choosing this poor job market. We are not choosing to take massive pay cuts from the pay we did have before we were laid off. We did not choose to have to depend on the federal government to help us in this time of need.

We understand this is not a communist country. The government cannot force employers to hire. We understand that the best we can hope for are opportunities for the private sector to re-grow and the government to offer tax incentives to small business to fuel employment growth.

The unemployed also understand that the states are cash-strapped. We propose using any unused stimulus funds to pay for this extension of benefits. If the President or members of Congress has another idea to pay for the extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation, we ask you to please end debate quickly. The unemployed cannot afford for there to be a month long debate on how to pay for this assistance.

We understand that this is an election year and there are those who would prefer to play politics than to help the unemployed. The long-term unemployed who have exhausted their benefits do not have time for these childish games.

We do not have time for obstruction or any other political schemes either. The unemployed ask you today with a heavy heart to please extend the available weeks available to Emergency Unemployment Compensation. We ask that you consider extending the weeks truly through the end of the year and we ask that you consider paying for this extension of benefits using unused TARP or unused Recovery Act funds to eliminate any long debates on this issue. Funding the unemployed is recovery.

The absolute last thing the long-term unemployed want is to be in need of another extension right before the November elections. All states have enacted the “trigger system” for extended benefits. You can use this tool to determine which states are in need of the extensions based on that state’s unemployment rate. If there is a drop in unemployment rates, we understand the need for the assistance to stop.

THE ACTION WE ARE ASKING FROM OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT IS AN EMERGENCY. WITHOUT THE EXTENSION OF THE AVAILABLE WEEKS THROUGH EUC MANY MORE AMERICANS WILL LOSE THEIR HOMES AND FALL DEEPER INTO POVERTY.

This extension cannot wait until Congress returns from Easter break. The unemployed cannot afford any more set backs or childish politics from those who are supposed to be leading. We look to our members of Congress and the President for immediate action and leadership.

Respectfully,

(Your Name)
An Unemployed American Desperate For Immediate Action From Congress

To Sign This Petition: http://uspoverty.change.org/petitions/view/open_letter_to_congress_and_the_president_from_the_unemployed

Please share this petition with as many as you can. We are all hoping Congress and the President takes action on this issue as soon as possible. Feel free to print this petition and use standard mail to get it to your representative. Also, feel free to edit this message as you see fit to make it more custom to you.

This petition is fully editable. In it's current form, it asks Congress and the President for a true full year of extensions through 2010 so long as unemployment remains so high. As stated in the message, the last thing the unemployed want is to be waiting on another extension when the heat of the 2010 elections nears.