Representative Barbara Lee To Hold Press Conference Announcing A Bill To Help 99ers

Feb. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- The American 99ers Union is proud to announce that on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at 10 a.m. EST a press conference will be held to announce the introduction of a bill that would add 14 weeks of extended unemployment insurance for all unemployed Americans. The Press Conference is being held at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C..

As of the time of this release, the list of those speaking and taking questions from the media are to include: Representative Barbara Lee (Democrat, California, 9th District); Representative Bobby Scott (Democrat, Virginia, 3rd District); a representative from the Economy Policy Institute; and Gregg Rosen (Co-Founder of the American 99ers Union). At the request of Rep. Lee, several other 99ers will also be in attendance.

Up to 35,000 unemployed Americans per week are coming to the end of their UI benefits without finding a job, thus joining the ranks of the millions of the longest term unemployed who are now known as “99ers”.

Some in Congress have stated that they would extend benefits for the 99ers if there were only a source of funding for it. Addressing that concern, Rep. Lee has suggested that this extension be paid for under The Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008.

The Congressional Budget Office report entitled, “Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011”* estimated that increasing aid to the unemployed “would raise output cumulatively between 2010 and 2015 by $0.70 to $1.90 per dollar of total budgetary cost.”  The CBO also estimates that extending unemployment benefits would add 8 to 19 cumulative years of full-time-equivalent employment per million dollars of total budgetary cost.

The American 99ers Union supports government spending that results in a positive return on investment. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act will effectively serve this purpose.

It is the firm position of the American 99ers Union that helping the long-term unemployed will stimulate our struggling economy and ensure that more Americans do not lose their jobs, while helping to create more jobs for unemployed Americans in this historically high period of job shortages.

The American 99ers Union (http://american99ersunion.yolasite.com/) wishes to thank Rep. Lee and Rep. Scott for sponsoring this bill.

Members of the press who plan to attend should contact Rep. Barbara Lee's office for further details.

*pdf page 27; “Policies for Increasing Economic Growth and Employment in 2010 and 2011” http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10803/01-14-Employmen...

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The American 99ers Union is a coalition of 99er advocacy groups and individuals devoted to helping 99ers - those who have exhausted all unemployment insurance compensation without being able to get a job.

We promote awareness of the plight of 99ers in the media and support legislation on behalf of 99ers.