[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Harkin, 
        Mr. Reed, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, and Mr. Brown):
  S. 2544. A bill to provide for a program of temporary extended 
unemployment compensation; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it is clear that our economy is going 
from bad to worse. Every day the headlines bring more bad news. Fuel 
prices are going through the roof. Millions of families are at risk of 
losing their homes. Bankruptcies have risen by 40 percent in the last 
year alone.
  Most alarming, we are seeing a drastic rise in the number of 
Americans out of work. In December, half a million more Americans were 
unemployed than the month before. Today nearly 8 million Americans are 
looking for a job and can't find one. The national unemployment rate 
has shot up to 5 percent--the biggest increase since the last 
recession. Experts say this number will rise well above 6 percent in 
2009. Vulnerable parts of our population have been hit even harder--
last month, 9 percent of African-American workers were unemployed, up 
sharply from 8.4 percent in November. Latino workers now have an 
unemployment rate of 6 percent.
  What's more, we are seeing a large number of out-of-work Americans 
who still can't find a new job months later. Nearly one out of five 
Americans who is looking for work has been out of a job for over 6 
months--compared with roughly one out of ten in 2001, before the last 
recession. With only 4 million job openings and nearly 8 million 
unemployed Americans, there are two workers for every job. As 
unemployment rises, there will be even more workers competing for each 
job. As highlighted in yesterday's front-page article in the Washington 
Post, this problem is affecting workers across our economy--even those 
with college educations and years of experience can't find work.
  These aren't just statistics. These numbers are coworkers, our 
relatives, our neighbors. For each and every one of those families, a 
pink slip can spell economic disaster.
  Losing a job isn't just losing a paycheck--it can mean losing the 
results of years of hard work and sacrifice.
  For too many families, losing a job means losing health insurance. 
Without insurance, an unexpected hospital stay--from a broken leg or a 
cancer diagnosis--means certain financial disaster. Mr. President, 77 
percent of middle class Americans do not have enough assets to pay 
essential expenses for 3 months. Without a paycheck, the rising price 
of daily necessities--housing, gasoline, and even groceries--becomes 
impossible to afford.
  Our unemployment insurance program is intended to help workers 
weather a job loss. Workers pay into the program throughout their 
careers. If they lose their jobs, they can collect a benefit while they 
look for work. The amounts are modest--typically less than half of a 
worker's regular wages--but they help families to pay their rent, keep 
the house warm, and put food on the table.
  In good economic times, such benefits are enough to tide workers and 
their families over for the few weeks it takes to find a job. But these 
are not good times. It is taking longer and longer for unemployed 
Americans to find new work. Over 1.3 million Americans have been 
looking for a job for 6 months or more. As a result, an increasing 
number of workers have not found a new job by the time their 
unemployment benefits run out. Over the past year, over 2.6 million 
Americans--or 35 percent of all unemployed workers--have exhausted 
their unemployment benefits. Unless we respond soon, these and other 
families will be left in the cold.
  So we must act, and we must act now, to help these workers before 
financial disaster strikes. That is why I am introducing legislation 
today to give workers the help they need and have earned. The Emergency 
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act will ensure that Americans who 
keep looking for work but can't find a job after 6 months will be 
eligible for up to 20 weeks of additional benefits. In very high-
unemployment States, workers could also receive up to 13 more weeks of 
benefits. Because out-of-work families are facing skyrocketing costs of 
gas, home heating, food, and housing, long-term unemployed workers will 
temporarily receive $50 extra each week to help pay their bills.
  Providing this extension is a matter of fairness. We owe it to all 
workers who have lost their jobs in this struggling economy to provide 
help while they look for new jobs. Out-of-work Americans have worked 
hard all their lives. They have paid into the unemployment insurance 
system with the promise they would receive its protection when our 
economy is in crisis. Part of the American Dream is the opportunity to 
work hard, provide for your family, put your children through school, 
and save for retirement. When the economy isn't working the way it 
should and the jobs simply aren't there, we must stick together. We 
must take care of those who can't find a job.
  But there's another major reason to act. Economists agree that 
extending unemployment benefits is a powerful, cost-effective way to 
deliver a boost to the economy. The extension of benefits puts money 
into the hands of those who need assistance the most and are most 
likely to spend it immediately on basic essentials. This means money is 
flowing immediately to local businesses, which will in turn provide a 
further economic boost.
  Indeed, according to a report by Mark Zandi of Moody's, each dollar 
invested in benefits to out-of-work Americans leads to a $1.73 increase 
in growth--the most of any measure tested. That compares with only 
pennies on the dollar for cuts in income tax rates or cuts in taxes on 
investments.
  The Congressional Budget Office agrees. Its report last week on 
short-term economic stimulus found that extending unemployment benefits 
is among the most cost-effective, potent, temporary steps that Congress 
can take to jump-start our economy.
  This is a tried and true approach to helping working families in 
economic downturns. In each recession since the late 1950s, Congress 
has extended unemployment benefits to those who have exhausted their 
benefits and can't find work. It has often done so by overwhelming, 
bipartisan votes. Layoffs don't discriminate by party.
  Extending unemployment benefits is the right thing to do for the 
economy and the fair thing to do for workers. I urge my colleagues to 
join me in helping out-of-work Americans and putting our economy back 
on track.

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