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Subject: You can stand up for 1.2 millions left in the lurch this week Your message to friends:

Dear Friend,

Last week, obstructionists in Congress blocked legislation which would have extended unemployment insurance for 1.2 million Americans. What does this mean? This week 1.2 million families are wondering how they are going to feed their children and stay in their homes. [1]

It doesn't have to be this way.

Tell your representatives in Congress that America can't afford to leave families in the lurch and can't afford to threaten the fragile economic recovery that's just beginning to take hold.

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/unemploymentcobrarelieftostates62910/?source=taf

What's happening? Last month, Congress made a devastating decision to allow the programs of extended unemployment benefits and healthcare for the unemployed to lapse. Then last week, again, obstructionists in Congress blocked this critical extension, and as many as 1.2 million workers were cut off of unemployment benefits at the end of last week, at least 140,000 workers lost out on subsidized healthcare through the subsidy of COBRA benefits, and an estimated 900,000 more people will lose their jobs in 2011. [2]

Families are in crisis we need to extend unemployment benefits and healthcare for the unemployed. We need to make our voices heard loud and clear in order to increase support in Congress for the extension of these critical programs!

Failing to extend these programs isn’t just cruel; it endangers the nation’s future. Limiting our spending on programs which help families stay afloat threatens the economic recovery and doesn't do much to reduce our future deficit. [3]

Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently sent a message to lawmakers that our nascent economic recovery is "still pretty fragile" and cautioned that the economy "may need more assistance."[4] Further, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics predicts that if state governments don't get additional help from the federal government, there will be hundreds of thousands of job losses which will be a significant drag on any economic progress that we have made. [5]

Tell your representatives in Congress to get this done now. Saving jobs and services is what will keep our economic recovery going. And it will reduce the national debt in the long term.

http://action.momsrising.org/cms/letter/unemploymentcobrarelieftostates62910/?source=taf

Have you or someone you know lost a job in this recession? Right now, it's more important than ever that Congress understands what real families are going through in the current economic climate. That's why MomsRising is joining organizations all over the country to gather stories about how the great recession is affecting families. Tell MomsRising your story about how difficult it remains to find a job right now and how important unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies are for you and your family. MomsRising will share these stories with Congress and with the media so folks understand that the recession is still affecting families.

* Click here to share a story: http://www.momsrising.org/submit/mrstory/economic_security?source=taf Even if you have shared your story before, please take a minute to update it now.

And please pass along this note to family and friends so they can take action too. So many families in our communities are still suffering from the impact of the recession. It's time for us to take a stand that the economic security of real people, and real families, must be our nation's number one priority!

Thanks!

[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20100624/us-congress-spending/
[2] http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3207
[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/opinion/21krugman.html
[4] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/09/bernanke-warns-congress-n_n_606232.html?ref=email_share
[5] http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65861820100609 and http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20100609&id=11583598

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Tell Congress to act on behalf of families

Last week Congress blocked the extension of unemployment benefits and healthcare subsidies for the unemployed. As a result at least 1.2 million workers were cut off of unemployment benefits, at least 140,000 workers lost out on subsidized healthcare through the subsidy of COBRA benefits, and an estimated 900,000 more people will lose their jobs in 2011. We need Congress to act on the behalf of families and our economic recovery.

Make sure your voice is heard loud and clear so that Congress gets the message that families need these critical programs!

Dear Legislator,

As one of over a million members of MomsRising, I am writing to urge you to take action on renewing federal unemployment benefit extensions immediately and stay in session till you get it done.

Too many families are still struggling to keep afloat in this tough economy. Please stand up for America's families by acting immediately to pass an unemployment benefits extension that includes COBRA subsidies and an extension of federal Medicaid match funds for states that are struggling to meet the needs of more families who lose jobs and their access to healthcare.

And while we are all concerned about deficits, even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently sent a message to lawmakers that our nascent economic recovery is "still pretty fragile" and cautioned that the economy "may need more assistance."  Further, Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics predicts that if state governments don't get additional help from the federal government, there will be hundreds of thousands of job losses which will be a significant drag on any economic progress that we have made.

For too long, unemployed workers and their families have suffered the anxiety and stress that comes with all the stop-gap extensions that Congress has been passing, and given the still high rates of unemployment in this country, and the 5.3 million people who are receiving federal benefits, these programs need to continue at least through the end of 2010.

Please support our families by acting now to ensure that millions do not face continuing joblessness coupled with an end to benefits that have kept us afloat so far and allowed our economic recovery to begin.
 
Sincerely,

G-FKC1JKZLDL

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Tell Congress to act on behalf of families