House majority Republicans fail to support unemployed Hoosiers
For immediate release:
Jan. 27, 2014
STATEHOUSE – State Rep. Cherrish Pryor (D-Indianapolis) said today she was disappointed that Indiana House Republicans failed to make a symbolic gesture of support for thousands of out-of-work Hoosiers who are losing unemployment benefits due to Congressional inaction.
Pryor asked her fellow representatives to support a proposal asking that the Indiana House urge the U.S. Congress to immediately reinstate the federal Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program that expired at the end of last year.
However, the Republicans who control the Indiana House of Representatives failed to approve the request.
The end of the program meant an immediate loss of benefits to nearly 70,000 Hoosiers. Across the country, more than 1.3 million Americans were impacted, with another 1.9 million set to lose benefits in the next six months.
“These people are being adversely affected by politics as usual in our nation’s capital, and it is sad to see that my colleagues who control the Indiana House have no interest in offering their support for the 70,000 folks in Indiana and the millions nationwide who are suffering through this harsh winter,” Pryor said.
Pryor said she was particularly disturbed that the debate over extending the support is allowing many lawmakers to say that the benefits provide no incentive for recipients to find work.
“It is far too easy to say that someone receiving unemployment benefits is too unmotivated or lazy, especially when you never take the time to understand the hardships that these folks face every day,” Pryor said.
“They are not lazy. They are motivated to try to care for themselves and their families during a time of great economic hardship when there aren’t that many jobs available, and the jobs that are often fail to pay a decent living wage,” she continued.
“What they need is our support, especially when they are suffering from political gamesmanship at the national level,” Pryor said. “Our nation’s unemployed cannot afford to hire powerful lobbyists, but they do deserve consideration from elected officials who are supposed to represent all of us, not just those who can afford to pay for access.
“That is why I offered my proposal today: to show them that we care,” she concluded. “It is sad that the House majority did not share those sentiments.”