Extending Unemployment Insurance; Enacting Wall Street Reform; Grants Workshop

Extending Unemployment Insurance
After seven weeks of Republican obstruction, on Wednesday evening, the Senate passed legislation toextend unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to millions of American families. On Thursday, the House immediately passed the extension by a vote of 272 to 152 and President Obama signed it into law.

The law extends unemployment benefits through November 30th and retroactively restores benefits to jobless Americans who may have lost their benefits as early as the end of May — some after just 26 weeks.

Republicans held up these benefits for more than seven weeks, causing an estimated 2.5 million workers and families to lose the lifeline that they have earned through their work. In addition to helping individuals make ends meet as they look for a new job, expanding unemployment benefits is one of the mostcost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy.

California’sEmployment Development Department (EDD) processes all UI claims in California. UI claims can be filed online or by contacting a customer services representative by calling 1-800-300-5616. If you are having difficulty contacting an EDD representative, your local California State elected officials can assist you in obtaining additional information about your UI benefits.

Enacting Wall Street Reform
On Wednesday, President Obama signed theWall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Actinto law, enacting the toughest set of Wall Street reforms in generations – and the strongest consumer protections in history. With this law in place, the homes, retirements, and college savings of consumers in San Francisco and across the nation will come first. These historic changes will help ensure that a future crisis does not compromise the financial security of hard-working Americans.

Congresswoman Pelosi signs the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to send to the President’s desk for his signature

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will put an end to Bush-era taxpayer-funded bailouts, protect consumers from predatory lending abuses, fine print, and industry gimmicks, and inject transparency and accountability into a financial system run amok. This law also empowers consumers to make the best decisions on homes, credit cards, and their own financial future with a consumer financial protection agency.

To learn what Wall Street Reform means for you, clickhere. To read the top 10 things you may not know about the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, clickhere.

Grants Workshop
On Wednesday, July 21st, my office in San Francisco hosted an event to help grant seekers in the City learn about weathering challenging economic times. Representatives from schools, the arts, and community-based and service-based organizations heard from my San Francisco office’s Grants Manager and theFoundation Center’s Grants Training Coordinator about best practices to thrive in times of funding declines.

If you are interested in attending the next workshop, you can sign up for my Grants E-Newsletters by visiting my Web site athttps://www.house.gov/pelosi/grants.html.

Please feel free toforward this information to your family and friends. To learn more about these efforts, to express your views, or to sign up for email updates,please visit my Web site. I am now on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi.