November 19, 2010

Thank you!

I am very pleased to report that we passed 5,000 e-update subscribers this week. Some of you have been with us since our first newsletter went out, and others are new to our regular correspondence. Thanks to all of you for your interest. I very much appreciate all of the feedback you have provided in response to the e-update over the years and I hope you keep it coming – when you agree with me and even when you don’t. If there is something you would like to see in future e-updates, or if you’d like to share your thoughts on how we can improve our newsletter, please don’t hesitate to let us know. I thank you and I look forward to your continued feedback.

Unemployment

The House this week considered H.R. 6419, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act under suspension of the rules. As you may know, the unemployment extension Congress passed several months ago will expire on November 30th. Nationally, close to two million people will lose their benefits at the end of the month. H.R. 6419 would have extended benefits for three months to give the long-term unemployed a little more time to find work.

Nationwide, unemployment is still hovering at 10%. If Congress does not act, roughly 60,000 Massachusetts residents will lose their benefits in December, and an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 more will lose benefits each week in January. I voted YES on the bill, but due to a lack of Republican support, it did not receive the two thirds majority required under the expedited procedure used.

Opponents have argued that extending unemployment through this economic downturn provides a disincentive for people to find jobs, but I reject that argument. Not only does unemployment provide merely a fraction of a person’s previous wages and no benefits such as health coverage, there is a firm limit on the number of weeks a person can collect benefits. This extension will help only those who have reached that limit. I hope that we can pass an unemployment extension before November 30th.

Caucus Rules

I serve as Chair of the Democratic Caucus’ Committee on Organization, Study and Review (OSR). This Committee essentially oversees the review and revision of internal Caucus Rules. Now that Democrats will be the minority party when the new Congress convenes in January, OSR is reviewing caucus rules. In preparation for January, I convened an OSR meeting yesterday where we discussed possible changes to long-standing caucus rules and agreed to reconvene soon to study them more in-depth. In the weeks ahead, I will work with my colleagues on OSR to go over our internal rules and make recommendations to the Democratic Caucus on what may need to be updated.

Next Week

Next week, has been designated a District Work period. Votes are scheduled to resume on Monday November 29th. Votes expected include a continuing resolution to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2011, as well as a debate over extending the Bush tax cuts. I will report back to you when the House reconvenes. I hope you have a happy and restful Thanksgiving.