Tell Congress:  The need for jobs and state aid is an emergency.

Call your Representative NOW:  1-877-442-6801, toll-free.
 

Around the country, states are struggling with budgets that slash vital services.  Unemployment remains nearly 10 percent, with close to half of the unemployment out of work for 27 weeks or more.  More than one in four teenagers are unemployed.

The House is expected to take up a bill this week that will help.  It will extend unemployment benefits and health care for the jobless through the end of the year.  It will prevent emergency federal funding for Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) from expiring.  We hope it will include funds for summer jobs for youth.

But all of this is uncertain, because some Members are worried they will be accused of not being concerned about the deficit.  They are hearing from constituents who say the federal government has done too much.  They are not hearing enough from constituents who understand that we must invest to prevent joblessness, to shore up our still weak economy, and to prevent hardships that will drag families and communities down.

They really need to hear from you.

Please call your Representative NOW, 1-877-442-6801.

Here's what he or she needs to hear:

I'm a constituent and I urge you to vote for H.R. 4213, a jobs bill that

• continues unemployment benefits and COBRA health care subsidies
• provides funds to help states with rising Medicaid costs
• continues the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, and
• funds summer jobs for youth.

BACKGROUND:

The bill that will help:  H.R. 4213, as amended.  Now called (this is a mouthful):  The American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act.

When it may come up:  Wednesday, May 26

Why your call is so important:  The economy is barely starting to show signs of recovery.  But if federal funding is no longer available to help with rising Medicaid costs, jobs will be lost - hundreds of thousands of them.  Services will be lost, too - if not in Medicaid then in other state services that would be slashed to protect Medicaid - mental health, education, child welfare services, child care...More than 20 states have assumed the additional federal funding in their budgets for next year.  If the funding is allowed to expire, the cuts will be brutal.  With well over 6 million long-term unemployed people, it would be unthinkable to end the federal UI extended benefits program, but it will expire on June 2 if Congress does not act.  Eligibility for COBRA health benefits expires on May 31.  Unemployment benefits and TANF assistance both help people to live and pump money into the economy.  TANF emergency funds are expected to create 185,000 temporary jobs by the end of September.  But these funds will expire September 30 if Congress does not act.  And summer jobs are urgently needed for young people.  Last summer over 300,000 jobs for youth were created with $1.2 billion in recovery funds. As of today, Congress has not yet provided any funds for this summer. 

• Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Economy.com has warned that the deep state budget cuts in FY 2011 "will be a serious drag on the economy at just the wrong time." He also asserts that every dollar of federal Medicaid relief results in $1.41 in increased economic activity, which translates into stronger economic growth.  Zandi tells us that every dollar spent on UI puts at least $1.63 back into the economy and that these benefits should be extended through at least the end of 2010, and not offset by tax increases or other spending cuts, which he says would be "counter-productive."

Timing is of the essence - This bill needs to clear the House and Senate before the Memorial Day recess and there is no time to waste on being indecisive, on playing partisan games, or on misdirected worries about the deficit.

Many thanks to AFSCME for use of the toll-free number, and to Jobs for America Now for content in this alert.