Open Congress : Comments on Sen. John Kerry [D, MA]

New comment by americausa

2008-06-13T09:14:21Z

I have been out of work since November 2007. My unemployment benefits have run out. My money has run out. I unable to obtain employment and need more time to continue my search for employment. I am at risk of losing my car. Gas prices continue to rise daily. I am highly skilled in my field. My State Rhode Island is one of the hardest hit with unemployment. I am 53 old and have worked hard all my life. I've paid taxes all my life, and this is how my country is treating me. Unbelievable. The Senate, House and President continue to play games as peoples life's are put in jeopardy. Totally disgusting. So all the extra time that I am not spending on looking for employment, I will dedicate to making sure any politician that votes nay on not extending unemployment insurance will be out of a job their next term by informing the public of their decision in every forum available. I will encourage others to do so as well. It is time in this country for the people to take control of their government again and take it out of the hands of the uninformed, out of touch, uncompassionate, ignorant, greedy, self absorbed fools that are the true terrorists ruining this country. Pass a fxxkxxg bill extending unemployment benefits or you will be out of a fxxkxxg job!!!!!!!!!

New comment by Anonymous

2008-06-08T17:58:39Z

Please HONOR Senator Kennedy by passing 2544!!!!!!!!!!!!

New comment by Anonymous

2008-06-05T02:30:54Z

These are the comments by Edward Kennedy who introduced Senate Bill 2544 cosponsored by John Kerry as an EMERGENCY bill for the unemployed. NOTHING has been done on it since JANUARY!!!! Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-MA]: [Introducing S. 2544] Mr. President, it is clear that our economy is going from bad to worse. Every day the headlines bring more bad news. Fuel prices are going through the roof. Millions of families are at risk of losing their homes. Bankruptcies have risen by 40 percent in the last year alone. Most alarming, we are seeing a drastic rise in the number of Americans out of work. In December, half a million more Americans were unemployed than the month before. Today nearly 8 million Americans are looking for a job and can't find one. The national unemployment rate has shot up to 5 percent--the biggest increase since the last recession. Experts say this number will rise well above 6 percent in 2009. Vulnerable parts of our population have been hit even harder--last month, 9 percent of African-American workers were unemployed, up sharply from 8.4 percent in November. Latino workers now have an unemployment rate of 6 percent. What's more, we are seeing a large number of out-of-work Americans who still can't find a new job months later. Nearly one out of five Americans who is looking for work has been out of a job for over 6 months--compared with roughly one out of ten in 2001, before the last recession. With only 4 million job openings and nearly 8 million unemployed Americans, there are two workers for every job. As unemployment rises, there will be even more workers competing for each job. As highlighted in yesterday's front-page article in the Washington Post, this problem is affecting workers across our economy--even those with college educations and years of experience can't find work. These aren't just statistics. These numbers are coworkers, our relatives, our neighbors. For each and every one of those families, a pink slip can spell economic disaster. Losing a job isn't just losing a paycheck--it can mean losing the results of years of hard work and sacrifice. For too many families, losing a job means losing health insurance. Without insurance, an unexpected hospital stay--from a broken leg or a cancer diagnosis--means certain financial disaster. Mr. President, 77 percent of middle class Americans do not have enough assets to pay essential expenses for 3 months. Without a paycheck, the rising price of daily necessities--housing, gasoline, and even groceries--becomes impossible to afford. Our unemployment insurance program is intended to help workers weather a job loss. Workers pay into the program throughout their careers. If they lose their jobs, they can collect a benefit while they look for work. The amounts are modest--typically less than half of a worker's regular wages--but they help families to pay their rent, keep the house warm, and put food on the table. In good economic times, such benefits are enough to tide workers and their families over for the few weeks it takes to find a job. But these are not good times. It is taking longer and longer for unemployed Americans to find new work. Over 1.3 million Americans have been looking for a job for 6 months or more. As a result, an increasing number of workers have not found a new job by the time their unemployment benefits run out. Over the past year, over 2.6 million Americans--or 35 percent of all unemployed workers--have exhausted their unemployment benefits. Unless we respond soon, these and other families will be left in the cold. So we must act, and we must act now, to help these workers before financial disaster strikes. That is why I am introducing legislation today to give workers the help they need and have earned. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act will ensure that Americans who keep looking for work but can't find a job after 6 months will be eligible for up to 20 weeks of additional benefits. In very high-unemployment States, workers could also receive up to 13 more weeks of benefits. Because out-of-work families are facing skyrocketing costs of gas, home heating, food, and housing, long-term unemployed workers will temporarily receive $50 extra each week to help pay their bills. Providing this extension is a matter of fairness. We owe it to all workers who have lost their jobs in this struggling economy to provide help while they look for new jobs. Out-of-work Americans have worked hard all their lives. They have paid into the unemployment insurance system with the promise they would receive its protection when our economy is in crisis. Part of the American Dream is the opportunity to work hard, provide for your family, put your children through school, and save for retirement. When the economy isn't working the way it should and the jobs simply aren't there, we must stick together. We must take care of those who can't find a job. But there's another major reason to act. Economists agree that extending unemployment benefits is a powerful, cost-effective way to deliver a boost to the economy. The extension of benefits puts money into the hands of those who need assistance the most and are most likely to spend it immediately on basic essentials. This means money is flowing immediately to local businesses, which will in turn provide a further economic boost. Indeed, according to a report by Mark Zandi of Moody's, each dollar invested in benefits to out-of-work Americans leads to a $1.73 increase in growth--the most of any measure tested. That compares with only pennies on the dollar for cuts in income tax rates or cuts in taxes on investments. The Congressional Budget Office agrees. Its report last week on short-term economic stimulus found that extending unemployment benefits is among the most cost-effective, potent, temporary steps that Congress can take to jump-start our economy. This is a tried and true approach to helping working families in economic downturns. In each recession since the late 1950s, Congress has extended unemployment benefits to those who have exhausted their benefits and can't find work. It has often done so by overwhelming, bipartisan votes. Layoffs don't discriminate by party. Extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do for the economy and the fair thing to do for workers. I urge my colleagues to join me in helping out-of-work Americans and putting our economy back on track. PLEASE PASS THIS AS A TRIBUTE TO SENATOR KENNEDY AND HIS WORK FOR AMERICAN WORKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New comment by Anonymous

2008-01-27T20:33:32Z

Dear Fellow Americans: >NOTE< IF you agree with this effort, forward this email. BUT if you do NOT agree, just smile and delete. This is NO attempt to influence your vote and NO.... I have NOT been approached or solicited or asked or paid or anything....to "launch this letter". I am reminded that when Americans fail to speak out against what they perceive as bad politics and bad policies, we ALL loose. I have always been a taxpaying and voting citizen. My first vote was for John F. Kennedy. I have felt great disdain for African Americans who vigorously support the Republican Party. When the Clinton's were being attacked by Ken Star and were subjected to the dirty tactics of a smear campaign by the Republican Party, even 'tho personal misbehavior invited that, I wrote letters of support to the Clinton's and, on their behalf, to numerous politicians, media pesons and to church leaders across this nation. In my opinion, this 2008 Presidential political contest is NOT so much about race or/and gender, as it is about POWER. But it MUST also be won ethically and fairly. As it appears to me, BOTH the Clinton's are making a strong case to validate the belief that the abused, once gaining power, may become the abuser. Speaking for myself only, I am grateful that when there was a call for the bus boycott in Montgomery, AL, that NOT one African American Minister called for support of continued segregated busses. Every "chance" to support a candidate is NOT the same thing as an opportunity to promote the GOOD of the people. To express my concern about their actions, I have personally contacted certain community leaders via web addresses, who have been motivated or/ and felt obligated to step forward with unnecessary and untimely "ENDORSEMENTS" or/and divisive debasing comments.OH! What would Adam Clayton Powell think now? ~~~ PLEASE help God BLESS America~~~ It IS our responsibility to step IN here. The media, while we NEED them for information, IS also fanning the flames of a fire that has the potential to become big and dangerous. I hope to have as many people as possible call the Clinton Headquarters; numbers listed below. I have called.YOU tell them: 1. Tell any one who answers the phone that you want to see an end to the negative campaigning 2. That you are a private citizen who does NOT like the personal attacks and distortion of the record 3. That you WILL withdraw support and WILL campaign against ANY candidate who initiates and maliciously perpetrates "personal" and cheap attacks 4. That we Americans want POSITIVE campaigning on THE ISSUES from a leader who seeks to unify, NOT just win .............OR....... say whatever YOU choose, but DO call to say something that may help foster a more civil campaign I have sent this email to HUNRDEDS OF PEOPLE on hundreds of sites including Nat'l Democratic Party, THE CLINTON'S.....library etc et al, COLLEGES, URBAN LEAGUE, NAACP...... talk radio hosts, popular news media......... and HUNDREDS of other people have sent it out also. Pass on AND make YOUR calls NOW. IF people started calling me THE Queen of England, I would likely wonder why, but in NO case would I believe myself to be unequivocally entitled to the socio-political advantages of that office. Maybe someone should tell Bill. He was "NICKNAMED" the first Black President. He wasn't REALLY him. Thanks, Janet OHIO THE NUMBERS FOR YOU TO CALL 4420 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, VA 22203 703-469-2008 Fax: 703-962-8600 Arizona 602-279-8030 | Arkansas 501-244-0200 | California - North 415-255-7431 | California - South 213-908-0190 | Colorado 303-296-1708 | Georgia 404-541-9595 | Iowa 515-282-5307 | Minnesota 612-374-0156 | Missouri 314-961-2008 | Nevada 702-664-1040 | New Hampshire 603-782-4640 | New Jersey 609-695-0600 | New York 212-213-3717 | South Carolina 803-667-3112 |

New comment by Wcote21

2008-03-06T12:41:05Z

What was Senator Kerrys vote on S.2248? The amendment to FISA 1978?

New comment by donnyshaw

2008-03-06T20:22:17Z

If you click on the "See Full Voting History" button above, you will see that Kerry voted "nay" on final passage of the FISA bill. There were also a dozen or so votes on amendments to the bill before it s final passage -- you can also see how he voted on each of those.

New comment by Anonymous

2008-04-03T12:19:55Z

Mr kerry please push for the unemployment insurance extension. Just yesterday 200 more citizens have lost their jobs due to a plant closing, the USA can't wait until may june or july when the booster shot arrives the dissease is spreading fast..

New comment by Anonymous

2008-04-06T09:19:31Z

The only thing worse than Bush as president is this guy!!

New comment by Anonymous

2008-04-09T09:08:17Z

This is to my true Pesident! John Kerry! IMPEACH GEORGE BUSH! A TRAITOR! A LIAR! A THEIF! PUT HIM IN THE STREET! EVERYONE SPEAK OUT! DON'T JUST WAIT FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN. GET UP AND MAKE IT HAPPEN!