[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 100 (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            EMERGENCY EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise in support of H.R. 5749, Emergency 
Extended Unemployment Compensation Act. Earlier this month we were met 
with troubling news about our economy. We learned that the unemployment 
rate, one of the strongest indicators of our Nation's economic health, 
experienced the largest one month increase since 1986, from 5 percent 
to 5.5 percent.
  In real terms, this jump in the unemployment rate means that between 
April and May, 49,000 more American workers lost their jobs. In 2008, 
our economy has lost a total of 324,000 jobs.
  In my State of California, the unemployment rate is the third highest 
in the Nation at 6.2 percent. Some areas in California's Central Valley 
have unemployment rates as high as 10 to 12 percent.
  Families in these communities are struggling in this economy, and 
with Governor Schwarzenegger's recently declared a drought emergency in 
the Central Valley, farmers there tell me that because of the water 
shortage, fewer acres will be planted this year, which will mean fewer 
jobs in this area of the State with already skyrocketing unemployment.
  Yet in this time of economic uncertainty, when so many workers can't 
make ends meet because they have lost their jobs, Senate Republicans 
today did as they have done so many times this year on issues important 
to American families and said ``no'' to passing a stand-alone 
unemployment benefits extension bill.
  This bill, passed with strong bipartisan support by the House, could 
have been sent to the President immediately so that unemployed workers 
who have exhausted their unemployment benefits can get additional 
support while they try and find a new job.
  Opponents of this bill wrongly suggest that extending benefits for an 
additional period of time in high unemployment States creates a 
disincentive for unemployed workers to seek a job. This flawed logic is 
not only demeaning to hard-working Americans, it also ignores the 
reality for job seekers pounding the pavement in today's economy.
  Unemployed workers are out looking for new jobs, but because of the 
economic downturn, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to find 
work. Today there are only 3.7 million existing job opportunities for 
8.5 million unemployed workers.
  In addition, the long-term unemployment rate is 62 percent higher 
than it was in January of 2001, when our country was in a recession. 
This means that more and more unemployed workers are running out of 
benefits before finding new jobs.
  In California, over 50 percent of newly unemployed workers are 
exhausting their benefits before finding a new job.
  Californians are also struggling to deal with rising fuel and food 
costs, making it even more difficult for the 324,000 Americans who have 
lost their jobs this year to provide for their families.
  We learned today that the national gas price average increased yet 
again to $4.08, up $1.07 from last year.
  Prices for food staples like bread and eggs are up as high as 20 
percent from last year.
  Food banks and soup kitchens, like the Alameda County Food Bank in 
California, are seeing demand for food aid grow as much as 40 percent 
over last year, with the increase in visits a direct result of the high 
unemployment rate.
  Senate Democrats know that we must act now to provide additional 
relief to workers who have exhausted their benefits and in areas of the 
country with high unemployment.
  This bill would immediately provide up to 13 weeks of extended 
unemployment benefits in every state to workers who have exhausted the 
26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits.
  Workers in States with higher levels of unemployment, like 
California, would be eligible for 26 weeks of extended benefits.
  This bill will also provide an additional stimulus to the Nation's 
economy. Leading economists tell us that for every dollar the Federal 
Government spends on unemployment benefits, it adds $1.64 to the 
national gross domestic product.
  We know that people out of work use extended unemployment benefits to 
meet the essential needs of their families, to buy groceries and to pay 
bills. With the much-needed resources this bill provides, jobless 
workers will help inject money into the lagging economy.
  This bill is a win for struggling families and a win for the Nation's 
economy, and it is unfortunate that Senate Republicans refused to work 
with us to consider this important legislation.

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