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Subject: Take A Stand to Protect Gulf Coast workers
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On Friday, Congress will go on vacation for a week and a half. While they're gone, 80,000 Katrina & Rita survivors who lost their jobs will lose their unemployment benefits--unless Congress acts before leaving.
Ask them to act now.
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Dear ColorOfChange.org member,
Unless Congress acts by Friday, 80,000 Katrina and Rita survivors who lost their jobs in the storm will start losing unemployment benefits. To let this happen would be shameful. The support these survivors are receiving is minimal--$104 per week on average, it's desperately needed by of tens of thousands of families, and the money is already in the budget. It just requires a vote.[1]
You can make a difference by urging your representatives in Congress to push for a vote on legislation that would extend these benefits. Then please ask your friends and family to do the same.
http://www.colorofchange.org/protect/
Three months ago, we faced a similar situation – disaster unemployment assistance was about to expire, Congress was about to go on vacation, and while the Senate passed a bill, the House of Representatives was sitting on its hands. ColorOfChange.org launched a campaign with KatrinaAction.org and other grassroots groups to push the House to pass an extension at the last minute, and it worked. Our members sent more than 3,700 emails and made over 100 calls to members of Congress. It clearly made a difference--one frustrated congressional staffer even called to thank us for helping to get things moving, helping to do what she and her boss (a member of Congress) couldn't.
Since March 1st, 60,000 have left the jobless rolls; those who remain are the ones having the hardest time recovering. As the spotlight shifts away, Katrina survivors still trying to piece their lives together are finding themselves increasingly vulnerable. The press is less interested in writing about them, members of Congress are receiving less pressure, and many in the American public are tuning out too.
In this case, standing up to protect the basic needs of the most vulnerable survivors is simple. It's just a matter of bringing bills to a vote and requires just a few minutes of Congress' time--before they go off for vacation. Let's make sure they do.
http://www.colorofchange.org/protect/
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Van, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
May 25th, 2006
1. "Beat the Clock," New York Times, May 24, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/opinion/24weds4.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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