[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 8 (Wednesday, February 6, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I praise Senator Grassley for his heroic 
efforts in trying to bring together a bipartisan group to come up with 
a package that would help our economy recover. I am disappointed the 
Senate majority leader has announced his intention to abandon work on 
the economic recovery package.
  In light of that reality, however, it is absolutely imperative that 
the Senate move today to extend to unemployed workers an additional 13 
weeks of benefits. This has been needed for a long time, and it is 
something I have been working on for the past 4 months.
  In October of last year, I introduced a bipartisan bill for a 13-week 
extension. I was joined by Senators Landrieu, Gordon Smith, Cleland, 
and Voinovich. We introduced this bill because we thought it was 
important to quickly pass a measure of additional security for the 7 
million unemployed workers across our Nation. Since that time, 
unemployment rolls have swelled by 900,000 and over 1.2 million 
Americans have exhausted their unemployment compensation benefits 
without being able to find new jobs.
  Last week, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and I wrote to the 
Senate leaders to ask them to call up legislation extending 
unemployment benefits as soon as possible. I am pleased that the 
assistant leader has indicated his intention to do just that.
  Unfortunately, we saw the handwriting on the wall, spelling the 
demise of the broader economic recovery legislation which I believe is 
still very much needed.
  Regular unemployment benefits end after 26 weeks in most States. When 
times are good and businesses are hiring, that is an adequate period of 
time for most unemployed workers to either find new jobs or to be 
rehired to their old jobs. In fact, that usually happens long before 
the 26 weeks have expired. However, when times are tough--and they are 
tough now--finding work is much more difficult and many unemployed 
workers exhaust their 26 weeks of regular unemployment compensation.
  Congress needs to do what it has traditionally done whenever our 
country has been plunged into a recession. That is to temporarily 
extend the safety net by providing 13 additional weeks of unemployment 
compensation. This package would do just that for up to an additional 
13 weeks for workers who lost their jobs after the economic downturn 
began in March and who have exhausted their benefits prior to being 
rehired or finding new employment.
  More than 10,000 unemployed workers in my home State of Maine 
exhausted their unemployment benefits last year without being able to 
find a new job. They work hard. They want to work. They want new 
employment. And they have been looking very diligently. However, the 
economy is such that they simply have been unable to find new work. An 
unemployment extension would provide immediate relief to hundreds of 
thousands of Americans, including the 10,000 Mainers who have exhausted 
their unemployment benefits and have yet to find work.
  Over the course of the coming year, approximately 3 million Americans 
who are out of work and looking for a job would be assisted. This 
proposal would provide approximately $60 million in assistance to 
unemployed workers in Maine alone. These are our neighbors; these are 
families who have been hurt most by the economic downturn.
  Let us, therefore, today pass this much needed legislation to extend 
benefits to millions of unemployed workers. Even if we have failed in 
coming up with a compromise on the broader package, we can at least do 
that, and do it today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired. The majority 
leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, could the Chair inform the Members of the 
time remaining.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There are 4 minutes remaining under the 
majority's control.

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