Continue the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Program

The Honorable Barack Obama

President of the United States

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20500

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable John Boehner

Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Harry Reid

Majority Leader of the United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell

Minority Leader of the United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20515

November 29, 2010

Dear Mr. President, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, Congressman Boehner, and Senator McConnell:

Congress must decide whether to continue the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (EUC), a decision that will directly affect millions of families and the entire economy. Authorization for the additional benefits Congress has been providing since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 expires tomorrow, November 30, and millions of unemployed workers will soon be affected. I write you out of concern for the jobless, who through no fault of their own, cannot find work in an economy with only one job vacancy for every five unemployed workers, and who depend on EUC to pay their rent or mortgage, pay for groceries and gas, and pay for their heating bills and other utilities.

But I write also out of concern for the economy. Together with Lawrence Katz of Harvard University, I gathered the signatures of 33 prominent economists on the attached statement, which warns that letting the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program expire will weaken the economy by reducing the spending of the unemployed and overall consumer demand. All of us agree that EUC should be extended for another 12 months and that there is no danger that continuing to provide extended unemployment insurance benefits will materially raise overall unemployment. We also agree that deficit financing for EUC is prudent and will not contribute significantly to long-term deficits.

We hope that you act swiftly to renew these benefits, for the good of the economy and the well-being of millions of deserving Americans who depend on them.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Mishel

President of the Economic Policy Institute