[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

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                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 29, 2010

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, unfortunately, because of a necessary 
absence, I missed the recorded vote on H.R. 5623, the H.R. 5618, the 
Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. (Rollcall vote 
No. 398) Had I been present and voting on this vital legislation, I 
would have voted yes.
  Since Congress first provided the emergency extension on unemployment 
benefits in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, I have 
voted to continue the extension at least seven times. As our nation 
recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression, it is 
very promising that almost 431,000 jobs were added in May, the most in 
four years. But we cannot reverse two years of recession overnight, nor 
can we turn the tide on a decade of declining middle class economic 
security. There is still much to be done to help the nearly eight 
million people who lost work during this economic crisis return to 
payrolls. Providing unemployment insurance benefits so that families 
can continue to put food on the table and pay their mortgage, is 
necessary to the economy's continued recovery.

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