[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 173 (Monday, November 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S15806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S15806]]
        EXTENSION OF TEMPORARY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION PROGRAM

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise to express my support for 
extending the Temporary Unemployment Compensation Program.
  As we approach the holiday season, many unemployed workers are 
approaching the end of their eligibility for unemployment insurance. 
Unemployed workers who exhaust their benefits between now and the end 
of the year will be eligible for 13 weeks of extended benefits but 
those who exhaust their eligibility after December 31 will be out of 
luck. The program will have terminated and they will not be eligible 
for extended benefits.
  According to the most recent reports from the Department of Labor, 
there are 337,000 people unemployed in Ohio, an increase of 39 percent 
from November 1999. In Michigan, 379,000 are unemployed, up 105 percent 
from November 1999. Another 177,000 are looking for work in Wisconsin, 
an increase of 90 percent. To put these numbers in perspective, during 
the last recession from November 1987 to November 1992, unemployment in 
Ohio increased by 21 percent, Michigan unemployment increased by 17 
percent and in Wisconsin unemployment actually fell by 7 percent.
  Even these numbers do not fully describe the challenges facing low 
and semi-skilled workers in the midwest. Although the Labor 
Department's household survey indicates more than 337,000 individuals 
are unemployed in Ohio, our state Department of Jobs and Family 
Services report that only about 130,000 are collecting unemployment 
insurance benefits. The remaining 200,000 workers have either exhausted 
their benefits or never qualified for them in the first place because 
they have been existing on a series of part time and temporary jobs 
that do not count toward unemployment compensation. DJFS reports also 
indicate that 2,000 to 2,500 individuals per week exhaust their state 
level unemployment benefits and apply for TEUC benefits. The number of 
individuals receiving TEUC benefits--about 25,000--has remained almost 
unchanged since July of 2002, indicating that as one cadre of 
individual leaves the system, another group takes their place.
  Although the recent employment numbers from the Department of Labor 
appear hopeful, they may promise more than they deliver. Over the past 
4 years, summer and fall employment gains in Ohio have been followed by 
winter and spring job losses. This cycle has remained consistent for 
the past 4 years. Equally important, the data appear to indicate that 
even if weekly unemployment claims are leveling out, they are doing so 
at twice the level of comparable times of the year in 1999. 
Consequently, unless we extend the TEUC program, many individuals will 
exhaust their state unemployment benefits during the most difficult 
period of the year to find employment but have no eligibility for TEUC 
benefits to tide them over until hiring picks up in the summer.
  The dead of winter is a particularly difficult time to be out of work 
in Ohio. Jobs are more difficult to locate and heating bills drive up 
household expenses. This is not the time to be making life more 
difficult for the low- and semi-skilled workers who are having the most 
difficult time readjusting to the realities of the new economy. 
Although I hope and pray the improving economy will generate new jobs 
for Ohio workers, we continue to have about 130,000 individuals 
collecting unemployment insurance each week. Unless we extend the TEUC 
program, many individuals will exhaust their state unemployment 
benefits just when they need them the most. We need to address this 
issue before Congress adjourns to ensure that people receive the help 
they need.

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