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Rep. Ellison Statement on Reported Budget Deal

Statement

Date: Dec. 10, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Employment and Affirmative Action Government Budget and Spending

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after it was reported that a budget deal hinges on forcing federal workers to pay more into pension plans and ending an extension of unemployment insurance:

"Federal employees work every day to inspect our food, deliver Social Security checks and ensure our loved ones arrive safely at airports around the country. Our thanks to them over the past few years has been a series of pay freezes, furloughs and reckless government shutdowns. Federal workers' pay and pensions should not be on the table and neither should unemployment insurance, which temporarily fills the gap for families during hard times. If the unemployment insurance extension expires, 8,500 Minnesotans will lose benefits on December 28th, 2013 and 39,000 will lose their benefits in the first six months of 2014.

"I strongly oppose a budget deal that asks federal employees to endure another pay cut, ends an important economic lifeline for out-of-work Americans, and preserves unfair corporate tax giveaways. Congress should pass a budget deal that invests in jobs and the economy. American families should not be hurt in the process."


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