[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 172 (Wednesday, December 12, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H9320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 ANNOUNCING INTRODUCTION OF WORKER OPPORTUNITY AND RELIEF COMPENSATION 
                                  ACT

  (Mr. MOORE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and include extraneous material.)
  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, on September 11, the people in the Congress 
came together with the President and all the American people as a 
result of the tragedy on September 11 in New York and Washington. I 
think we need to show that same spirit again when we come together for 
displaced workers in this country.
  The people in this country who lost their jobs as a result of the 
faltering economy or the horrible event on September 11 do not need a 
handout. They do not need a tax cut. They need a helping hand just to 
get through this personal crisis they have suffered as a result of 
their loss of jobs until they can find a new job. These people are 
taxpayers and they will work again when they have the opportunity. But 
until that time, they need health insurance and they need extended 
unemployment benefits.
  I am concerned that the latest press accounts reflect there may be 
some problem with the stimulus package. If that is the case, we need at 
the very least to pass a stand-alone provision for these displaced 
workers. The President has committed to support such a stand-alone 
provision.
  I have introduced today the Worker Opportunity and Relief 
Compensation Act. I ask for your support for that legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I include a December 7 letter from the President as 
follows:

                                              The White House,

                                     Washington, December 7, 2001.
     Hon. Dennis Moore,
     House of Representatives,Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Moore: In October, I called on Congress 
     to pass meaningful legislation to help Americans who have 
     been affected by the economic consequences of the terrorist 
     attacks. I called for immediate assistance for workers who 
     have lost their jobs, and for tax provisions that would 
     immediately and significantly stimulate the economy to create 
     more jobs.
       I made clear that I was open to good ideas for achieving 
     these goals. And I laid out some general principles that are 
     essential components of a meaningful stimulus package:
       Tax rebates for lower-income Americans; Acceleration of 
     marginal tax rate reductions; Enhanced expensing of capital 
     expenditures; and Elimination of the corporate alternative 
     minimum tax.
       In the two months since I called on Congress to act, many 
     promising ideas to assist workers have been put forward by 
     both Democrats and Republicans. In November, Chairman Baucus 
     proposed temporary expansions of health care and unemployment 
     benefits for displaced workers. A bipartisan group of 
     moderate Senators also developed a specific proposal for 
     temporary assistance to workers, including a health insurance 
     tax credit. This week, Chairman Thomas and the Republican 
     leadership of the House announced their support for a 
     specific set of temporary expansions of health care and 
     unemployment benefits for displaced workers. Their proposal 
     includes tax credits and mandatory spending, including block 
     grants for health insurance, and extensions and increases in 
     unemployment benefits that could all be implemented quickly.
       I believe that the recent proposal from the House 
     Republicans, coupled with the essential components of an 
     economic stimulus bill that I have outlined above, can form 
     the basis of a legislative package that provides the 
     assistance and new jobs that American workers need now. I 
     urge the Congressional Leadership to bring this legislation 
     expanding unemployment and health benefits to my desk by the 
     end of the year. Additionally, I urge Congress to send me 
     legislation regardless of the success or failure of any other 
     elements of the economic stimulus measures now pending. I 
     continue to strongly believe that the best course is to 
     combine assistance for dislocated workers with meaningful tax 
     cuts that will create jobs for American workers.
       My Administration stands ready to work with Democrats and 
     Republicans to turn good ideas into law. We have an 
     extraordinary opportunity to rise to the challenge of 
     extraordinary economic times. I hope that Congress can now 
     act quickly.
           Sincerely,
     George W. Bush.

                          ____________________