_Socialists demand Congress act now to restore long-term jobless benefits _

Washington, DC – A vote is expected on legislation to restore Extended Unemployment Compensation this Monday, April 7. The bill, which calls for Congress to bring back unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, has faced repeated delays from Senate Republicans, but is expected to pass.

The impasse in the Senate was broken when a small group of Republican senators decided to back the effort to restore the benefits.

When the Democratic leadership in Congress failed to insist on the inclusion of Extended Unemployment Compensation in last December’s budget compromise, they in effect gave Republicans veto power over benefits for the unemployed.

After the passage of the jobless bill in the Senate, the legislation needs to pass in the House. Most House Republicans are hostile to measures that assist working people. Many of the Democrats have gone along with cuts to social programs.

More than 2 million workers have lost their benefits since extended unemployment insurance expired at the end of last year.

Steff Yorek, a leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), states, “The capitalist system is a failed system that is unable to meet people’s needs. It serves the rich and so do many of the Washington, D.C. politicians. It’s time to turn up the heat on Congress.”

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