Congresswoman Duckworth Tells Story of Unemployed Neighbor (VIDEO)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-08) told the story of her unemployed constituent Mary Pakos on the floor of the House of Representatives. Last month unemployment insurance expired for nearly 80,000 individuals in Illinois, with nearly 3,500 losing unemployment insurance each week during the first half of 2014. Watch her speech here.

The text of her remarks are included below.

Mr. Speaker, Mary Pakos of Villa Park, Illinois is one of my neighbors, and she needs Congress to extend unemployment insurance now. Mary has 16 years of experience in human resources - with 7 of those as a manager – but she has been unemployed for 3 years.

But it’s not for lack of trying. She has sent out more than 500 resumes and gone through interview after interview with no success. She worries about losing her house and how she’ll support herself in retirement. Mary recently turned 60, and she knows how tough it can be to find work at her age.

But that does not stop Mary from looking for jobs for hours every day. It does not stop her from spending hours a week volunteering at her local church in Elmhurst, Illinois because she cares so much about her community. Mary is not giving up and we should not give up on her either. Many Americans like her want to find work and simply can’t. Punishing them by taking away unemployment benefits is a terrible mistake.

Let’s put partisanship aside and extend unemployment insurance now for our families and our businesses. 

Thank you. I yield back.