Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a virtual town hall Tuesday (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)
Sept. 15, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will introduce a bill in the House of Representatives this week to extend federal unemployment insurance through February, she announced Tuesday.
The federal unemployment benefits expired Sept. 6 — leaving millions of Americans without income as they look for work. An estimated 800,000 New York City residents lost all their benefits.
Ocasio-Cortez’s bill includes retroactive unemployment checks to cover the period beginning Sept. 6— while going through Feb. 1, 2022.
The congresswoman said cutting off aid to the unemployed at this time is a mistake, since the economy has yet to fully recover to pre-COVID-19 levels.
“I’ve been very disappointed on both sides of the aisle that we’ve just simply allowed pandemic unemployment assistance to completely lapse when we are clearly not fully recovered from the consequences of the pandemic,” Ocasio-Cortez said at her virtual town hall Tuesday evening. “I simply just could not allow this to happen without at least trying.”
New York City’s job market has been slow to recover, according to economists. The city is 510,000 payroll jobs short of its pre-COVID-19 peak, according to a recent study by The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs.
The loss of unemployment insurance is affecting up to 10 percent of New York City residents, Ocasio-Cortez said.
The congresswoman admitted that she didn’t know how viable her bill would be in the legislature, but said she couldn’t give up without at least trying to get it passed.
“I’m not entirely sure the prospects of it and I want to be completely honest with you all on that,” Ocasio-Cortez said to constituents during her town hall. “We will work it… even if the majority of the caucus is not onboard we are going to do our best to make that effort.”
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56 Comments
Congresswoman AOC Thank you for all you do!!
Unemployment Insurance is a Benefit that we [PAY] for with our Taxes, it’s NOT a Free Government Hand out, it’s NOT FREE, FREE, FREE!! The Government has an Obligation to Help us in a Time of Need, and this is the Time, where People are Not getting Jobs that will Support Basic Income Needs!!
But No Matter how it’s Explained, Some Still Don’t Get it!?
If the Government has Trillions to Spend on Useless and Destructive Wars and Billions on Defense Contracts, then they Should Continue to HELP their American Citizens!
But Some on this Page are Naysayers and Always will be!
And AOC’s Dress “TAX THE RICH” was Beautiful and She looked Gorgeous. Her Message was Loud & Clear! As Some may Know, the Super Rich Don’t Pay their Fair Share in Taxes. For Example, the Former Occupant of the White House only Paid $750???
And get a damned job!!!
Like everyone else here!!!
Excuse you!! Fortunately, I have Not Been unemployed!
There are those that Have Plenty, but Don’t want others to have anything, Not even Food on the Table!?
Unfortunately, you’re Vitriolic!
It is the only way she can stay in power….the handouts card….other than that, she is as fake as they come…a want to be influencer at best. (ZERO legislation passed)
Well voters decide. And apparently that is what they want. Many people who live in NYC and are arriving to this country especially through the southern border share the same political views. It is why they fled their countries feeling like there government is not doing enough to help them. Have a conservation with some of them and you will see that they hold many socialist views. As soon as they become citizens and their children will be old enough to vote AOC and the squad will be the norm.
I was one of them along with my family and we despised Socialism in my home country and everything about it in favor of the Capitalism that allowed us to become homeowners, investors, and professionals…with NO HELP except each other so try again if that is the route you want to go down….
Illegal immigrants from the south have the same political views? LMAO. The idea of using tax payer money that they did not continue to, to help fund their housing, medical care, schooling for their children, free money to their pockets is a common political idea in Central America and South America? That’s not a political view, its selfishness. It is also called freeloading without a care where the money is coming from. AOC and every progressive just want votes without knowing how to sustain an economy. Their socialist views are plain laziness. Laziness to work, laziness to get an education, laziness to make an effort, except for protesting and whining.
Right “Pablo” , I’m sure ! The only people who are voting for her are white people that came from other states besides NYC and have a guilty sense of being white and privileged
I’m 1st generation born of parents who came from a socialist country and they do not need hand outs because they worked for it since they got here .
And their children , me , did not vote for her because she does not represent me , she’s just a hypocrite with her own agenda
OMG it’s still some good hearted ppl out here nothing but GOD ? ?? pls help us
Who help themselves.
(Didn’t see that coming did ya?)
Thank you Rep Ocasio-Cortez for all your efforts to help the unemployed people still not working due to the pandemic.
You just need to find people that still aren’t working due to the pandemic. Most just have a bad case of deadbeatitis.
We’re going off the rails on the gravy train.
She’s more interested in the welfare class not the working class.
who do you think keeps her in power?
Unfortunately the Achilles heel of democracy is also its great strength, the successful candidate should be the one who has the most marketable and in theory competitive idea to draw voters.
Unfortunately for candidates who are weak or stagnant on new ideas a lazy but proven effective way is to capture or better yet create your own dependent constituency. In the case of AOC its such a lazy approach, use access to the government purse strings to buy that support through freebies that folks then become consumers of which in turn creates a market for them and in turn a reliant voter for those like AOC. Meantime it takes more and more money out of the real economy where real growth and jobs are created to feed it compounding the root cause.
Nevermind the entitlement programs we already have are nearly bust without emergency action, such as Medicare and Social security already in a few short years. We want to use new crises to justify new ones for the same known unsustainable outcome? When the economy craters because everyone is planning on how to avoid the tax man as the primary economic motivator rather than money flowing into productive new purposes don’t be surprised.
Why is it “tax the rich”? Why isn’t it “help the poor”?
These Marxist dont like the poor and they hate the success of others.
Guess where money for education, housing and roads comes from? I’ll give you some time.
Trump only paid $750 in taxes. Did you pay more?
How about these politicians balance
the budget instead of stealing more? If there isn’t a problem or victim the government (especially the left) makes one up (Republicans have their issues for sure).
I don’t need to guess where the money comes from. I KNOW where the money comes. From your response you probably think it comes from individuals? It really comes from the counterfeit printing press… here let me spoon feed it to you… it comes from the Federal Reserve (which is technically a private bank) purchasing IOUs of the federal government then federal government bails out poorly run states. This causes inflation which erodes the poor’s purchasing power (otherwise kown as inflation).
Lol @ taxes help the poor ??? they got you good. You think
they’re going to tax their biggest donor’s? It’s just virtue signaling so supporters feel good. AOC doesn’t care about you only so much she cons you to vote for her.
It’s the spending that needs to stop. Cut out government and donate to non profits who do a better job of helping the poor.
Truth- You’re so gullible and uninformed. We live in a consumer driven market economy that uses a progressive system of taxation to fund the country. That’s why it’s “tax the rich”
The problem is that a majority of the poor don’t want to play by the rules. They WANT their kids to have kids of their own at 14. They WANT that Pit Bull, and not as a pet. They WANT to sit outside of their NYCHA building at all hours smoking weed and drinking booze. Then they want GoFundMe when their two year old who was outside with them gets shot!!!!
STOP STOP this free hand outs at the expense of tax payers! There are tons of companies asking for help – go out and find work and stop expecting Uncle Sam to give you a free ride, enough already!
AOC has sponsored 21 bills and none have become law. making her one of the most ineffective law makers in congress. this new one she is proposing is going now where either as she admits . So all you fools that voted for her thinking she is an advocate for the poor working class are being greatly fooled. meanwhile she lives in a luxury complex , earns 175K and parties with the wealthy. this latest bill is just a show as she just didn’t expect such backlash from her latest jaunt the other night.
Hey btw there is rumor yes she hangs with the rich she supposedly was at this super rich MET gala earlier in the week!!! What is she doing there you wonder???
I find it incomprehensible that they would allow the benefits to end, especially with students going back to school and with the holidays fast approaching, and that it impacts the most vulnerable segments of our population, and they fail to consider that most of this money is poured back into the economy, shows a callous indifference to the needs of these individuals and their families.
I understand it’s just a proposal, say it passes would we all get retroactive pay even if our claim lapsed the 4th or the 6th?
Yes, everyone would get retro money and a pony.
If AOC runs for any elected job in office including President one day, She’s got my Vote and hundreds of millions of others guaranteed !
Is this a comment actually typed by AOC?
She’s more interested in the welfare class not the working class.
Probably not. AOC has widespread support among her constituents, although you wouldn’t know it if all you do is watch Fox News & read the NY Post. AOC is smart and industrious. She will be a force to reckon with for many years to come.
With the growing latino community yearly she has an even better chance. You all just wait and see. Young white voters and latinos of all ages love her.
To vote.
Lol.
Keep talking. Eventually these people will get with the program.
She sucks and doesn’t have widespread support. She has support amongst the chronically poor. These are people who just take and take government benefits.
Pedro, if AOC were to ever become president, you would be living in a socialist society, does Cuba and Venezuela come to mind.
Lord I pray let this happen. My husband lost his job and we are struggling.
If Congress really cared they would have passed a sensible bill to help those Americans that are still struggling to make ends meet. Congress is ready to go on vacation while many Americans are struggling. Remember that next election date and vote these clowns out of office. We need more people in office like AOC.
AOC is the rich.
Bless AOC! This is the Best news ever. She is always looking out for the working class. Tax the rich!
You know… WORKS!!!
Haha! These people don’t/won’t.
Even if you tax the rich 100 percent, you wont see a dime of it…here is why. Billionaries DO NOT have a bank account with billions in it…what they have is net worth based on what their companies/properties/stocks are worth…as long as those assets are held long term, you don’t need to pay taxes on them.
Next, the rich use loans to buy their houses and other luxuries. Loans aren’t taxed. The loans get payed off by the dividends earned from those assets so even if you tax them 100 percent, there is nothing that the IRS can legally take…plus they have enough charity causes to offset any taxes from those dividends.
Learn to use the tax code to your advantage. idk
Make no mistake. The progressives do have some leverage in the House. They can stall and basically say they won’t support any Biden agenda items. Then, and only then, will they maybe get traction with extending benefits.
Let’s make it retroactive to 2015 and for the future until 2026 and extend the eviction moratorium until 2025.
Let’s hope it passes..❤️pandemic isn’t over yet..
I was super fortunate to have found a decent job three weeks ago; I was super scared before I got the job. I hope the unemployment benefits get extended. It’s not easy finding a decent job, despite what they say about all the job openings out there. Best wishes to you all.
Congrats on finding a job. Best wishes and work hard to keep it.
? pray that this passes.
Are we getting our unemployment back ?
We need employment benefits to be extended.
Yes Ana: let’s extend. I love sitting at home and doing nothing. This has been the best year and a half of my life!
So sorry for those that lost em and I really hope this bill goes through!!!! Thank you AOC!!
Is she not aware that many businesses in the service industry across the nation have open positions? This is no longer about a lack of jobs. Maybe reassess the situation after most of available positions have been filled.
No. Absolutely not this should not be passed at all. I’ve seen “we are hiring” in various locations. People need to just get up from their couches and look for a job. I’ve seen people just abuse this system and I hope this does not get passed at all. This is not needed, use this money to fund better social programs, or save the arts and music hey better yet how about better housing with this unemployment money. I rather see the expansion of a bike lane across the country than the extension of this program just for some low life can sit at home and smoke some weed and complain about life.
Maybe she can introduce a bill to copywrite her ridiculously expense TAX THE RICH dress which she wore to the Met gala along with earrings worth thousands of dollars. She should put her money where her bit mouth is and tax herself. She also did not wear a mask although she thinks you should . You voted for this – you can live with it.
Redistributing taxpayer wealth to give people free money is WRONG. Except when Trump did it because ?
Why ??? There are plenty of restaurants understaffed because it’s easier to sit home and collect , this is ridiculous just like her embarrassing “Tax the Rich” dress while hanging out with the rich all night at the gala