Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement after Senate Republicans refused to reinstate unemployment insurance for the 1.7 million Americans whose benefits have expired since December 2013.

“Every week, another 72,000 Americans who cannot find jobs are denied the support that would allow them and their families to obtain the basic necessities. These thousands of men and women are added to the millions of people whose needs have been ignored by Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “The situation has become an emergency, as families and children are reduced to destitution because Congress has failed to act.

“We have a duty to listen to the American people, and to uphold our values as a society. To assist these millions of families and to protect the stability of the economy as a whole, we should extend unemployment benefits.  Unfortunately, we have not been allowed even to vote on the issue.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.