just a little bit of stability. let s just do the common sense thing, let s do what s right. we re going to have to, we re going to have to see action, though, on the part of congress. and i ll be willing to work with them every step of the way, action to to help businesses create more of the good jobs that the middle class grows, restoring economic mobility, reducing inequality, access to people who are willing to work hard and walk through those doors. you know, when i was listening to katherine, i was just so struck by her strength and dignity, and i think people when they bump into someone like katherine, they re not looking for pity, they just want a shot. and [applause]
but in the meantime, the insurance keeps them from falling off a cliff. it makes sure they can pay their car note to go to that interview. it makes sure they can pay tear cell phone bill so their cell phone bill so that if somebody calls back for an interview, they can answer it. and katherine explained this. katherine, in the letter she wrote to me, said that do folks really think that cutting this benefit will make someone hire me? that s not how employers are thinking. so letting unemployment insurance expire for millions of americans is wrong. congress should make things right. i am very appreciative that they re on their way to doing just that thanks to the bipartisan work of two senators. we had a democrat from rhode island, senator reed, and you
house speaker john boehner came out and said pretty clearly he will be against the measure when it gets into his chamber. we ll take the president as soon as he makes his appearance. which could be any second. and here he comes as we speak. i want to apologize if we don t get a chance to get to ayman. let s listen in. [ applause ] good morning. my name is katherine hackett and i am from connecticut. i m very grateful that president obama invited me here today in response to a letter that i wrote to him about the discontinue yags of federal unemployment insurance. i am unemployed. i will be significantly affected by this decision. job loss is devastating and i am working very hard every day to
unemployment insurance, it makes it harder for them to find a job. you heard katherine s story. she s far more eloquent than i could ever be. she wrote me last month to say, please let those who think i m sitting at home enjoying being unemployed, know i would much rather be working. i had a chance to talk to katherine and i think it s pretty clear that that s the case. katherine went on to say i ve applied to everything for which i m possibly qualified to no avail. i worked hard all my life, paid taxes and voted and engaged in political discussion and made the ultimate sacrifice, my two sons serve in the u.s. military, job loss is devastating and if i could fix it myself, i would. i challenge any lawmaker to live without an income. that s what katherine said.
pick up infrastructure, passing immigration reform, a tax cut for businesses that would finance the infrastructure investments, these are ways to grow the economy even faster. the best way to help katherine hackett and 1.3 million people who lost benefitses and 3.6 million others who stand to lose thi benefits this year if congress doesn t act is to grow the economy faster. because the biggest source of gdp growth is when we have more consumption. when you put money in people s pockets, they spend more. when they spend more, businesses hire more, the economy grows. when you take when you get rid of unemployment benefits and when you don t have a fair wage, when the minimum wage as it is now is too low, people don t have money in their pockets and can t spend. and the economy doesn t grow fast enough. i m confident we can move forward. we ve done it before and done it