Rep. Pramila Jayapal Profile picture
Congresswoman, lifelong organizer, mom. Proudly serving WA-7. Chair Emerita @USProgressives. Member @HouseJudiciary, @HouseForeign, @HouseBudgetDems. She/her.

Aug 11, 2020, 6 tweets

Don't cut the $600 a week of unemployment assistance. Extend it! This is critical relief that goes towards groceries, paying bills, and helping people withstand this crisis.

I've heard from dozens of constituents who need this help to make ends meet. Here's what they're saying:

Dana is a single mother who was laid off from a position she had for 13 years:

"It was devastating. I have a child to support, and rely on this to make ends meet. It's becoming increasingly stressful to think of what I'll do once the payments stop. I don't know what we'll do."

Taylor is 38 and has been working since they were 12. They say COVID caused them to be laid off for the first time, and calls the impact suffocating:

"I'm terrified. This will pass eventually but the reality of rent, bills, finances and student loans pilling up is overwhelming."

Caitlin is out of work because of COVID. She says she's stuck for the foreseeable future like many:

"I need this extension because without it I, can't pay rent, I won't be able to eat...So many people are depending on it. These are the real concerns we're feeling on the ground."

Maria says she worked her entire adult life until being laid off because of COVID:

"The $600 replaces my income perfectly. No more and no less...I will now be forced into personal bankruptcy. This is a terrible feeling...don't allow Republicans to destroy the middle class"

So many of the letters I've received end the same way Maria's ended: "Pass the extension"

This is deeply personal to so many in our community and across America. We must act NOW: extend the $600 and get more relief to people so they can withstand the crisis. This can't wait.

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