[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E957-E958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCING THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC SECURITY 
                              ACT OF 2009

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
National Commission on Employment and Economic Security Act of 2009.
  This legislation is a necessary and vital investment in the people of 
the American workforce and their families. This bill will establish a 
national commission to examine issues of economic and psychological 
insecurity within our workforce that have been caused by employment 
displacement. Further, it will propose solutions, including 
recommendations for legislative and administrative action, to Congress 
and the President.
  Since the recession began in December 2007, more than 5.1 million 
jobs have been lost. Last month, the national unemployment rate reached 
an unprecedented 8.5 percent, the highest it has been since the 
recession of 1983 and it is much higher in many states like Florida, at 
9.7 percent, and it has topped 12.6 percent in Michigan.
  Over the past year, unemployment rates have increased in all 50 
states and the District of Columbia. The scope of the economic downturn 
is so large that its impact is felt virtually everywhere along the 
economic spectrum.
  While Americans lose their jobs and their incomes shrink, too often, 
they face the loss of their family's health insurance and, subsequent 
to the loss of income, even their housing. According to a September 
2008 survey by the American Psychology Association, 80 percent of 
Americans say the economy is a significant cause of stress, an increase 
from 66 percent since April 2008. Perhaps even more disturbing, calls 
to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have increased by more than 
20 percent from January 2008 to January 2009.
  Madam Speaker, the mental health of the American worker will be 
integral on the road to economic recovery and Congress must face this 
problem head on and help the very people who are facing unemployment, 
loss of health insurance, home foreclosure, stress, increased violence, 
and depression. It is time that we create this Commission and get our 
nation back on track.
  We have a solemn responsibility to ensure the greatest possible 
assistance to the American workforce, whose commitment to economic 
participation has been a defining feature of the cultural fabric of our 
country. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

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