The House Ways and Means Committee has passed HR 5749, The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008, which now will go to the floor of the House and be sent on to the Senate.  The value of this bill is that it will both stimulate the economy and assist persons whose incomes have been cut off in this downturn. 

Unemployment is escalating.  Previous recessions have shown that a temporary increase of unemployment benefits is a strong stimulus of the economy.  From the Catholic Social tradition:  This assistance contributes to the dignity of the worker in difficult times.

Ideas for next steps:

• Urge your representative to vote for H.R. 5749.  Urge your senators to bring a similar bill to the Senate as soon as possible.  Call 202-224-3121 or email them.  When emailing, always include your name and address and appropriate subject line. 
• Need to find your legislator's email address? Go to www.visi.com/juan/congress. Legislators' websites often list subject categories for emails, such as health, foreign relations, etc.
• Click Reply below if you'd like to share how the current economic climate is affecting you.