Peter Roskam Blocks Aid to Unemployed Illinois Workers

If you are a corporate executive hoping to protect your $37 million annual compensation, Peter Roskam’s got your back. If you are an Illinois worker, laid off by that executive when he off-shored your job to India or Costa Rica, and your unemployment benefits are about to run out, Peter Roskam says “tough luck”.

Peter Roskam demonstrated again yesterday his utter lack of compassion and concern for working people in his district by voting against H.R. 5749, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008. Democrats in Congress had proposed extending unemployment benefits, on an emergency basis, by an additional 3 months for unemployed workers in all states and by 6 months for workers in states with unemployment rates higher than 6%. The Democrats were responding to the report by the Labor Department that the jobless rate had increased by 0.5% to 5.5% in May, the largest increase in 23 years. May was the fifth consecutive month of job loss.

The measure failed to pass in the house, lacking only 3 votes, one of them Roskam’s. House Democrats will continue to pursue an extension of benefits.

Peter Roskam has demonstrated time and time again by his votes his preoccupation with serving only the interests of large corporations and economic elites. Then, after after he votes to obstruct Democratic efforts to help the middle class and the underprivileged in his district, he comes home and whines and complains about the extreme partisanship in Congress that is preventing him from helping his constituents. In reality though it is Roskam who is playing partisan politics and catering to special interests.

6th District residents who have lost their jobs or fear losing them should contact Peter Roskam and demand that he put partisan politics aside and stop obstructing Democratic efforts to aid unemployed workers. Roskam can be reached at his Washington office at (202) 225-4561 or in Bloomingdale at (630) 893-9670.