[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 27, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H2383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE ECONOMY AND UNEMPLOYMENT

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge my colleagues to support 
an extension of unemployment benefits. During the first 6 months of 
2004, an estimated 83,000 workers in the L.A. and Long Beach 
metropolitan area will have exhausted their jobless benefits. We hear 
that jobs are coming, but the anxiety is there. Our workforce is 
waiting to see where the jobs are.
  And in my district alone, I represent the San Gabriel Valley, 
unemployment rates remain high. In East Los Angeles and the city of 
South El Monte it has remained at over 10 percent for over 3 years. In 
fact, the national Latino unemployment rate is 7.4 percent, way above 
the national, 28 percent higher than it was just 3 years ago.
  And who do we have to thank? This administration. The unemployment 
rate is especially higher among Latino youth. It is about double.
  I am urging the President and my colleagues to support these young 
people and help restore vital funding for job training and to extend 
unemployment benefits to the 2.9 million unemployed workers in America.

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