[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 151 (Thursday, November 18, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7569-H7575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION CONTINUATION ACT

  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 6419) to amend the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to 
provide for the further extension of emergency unemployment benefits, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6419

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Unemployment 
     Compensation Continuation Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROVISIONS.

       (a) In General.--(1) Section 4007 of the Supplemental 
     Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 
     note) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``November 30, 2010'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``February 28, 2011'';
       (B) in the heading for paragraph (2) of subsection (b), by 
     striking ``november 30, 2010'' and inserting ``february 28, 
     2011''; and
       (C) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ``April 30, 2011'' 
     and inserting ``July 31, 2011''.
       (2) Section 2005 of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers 
     and Struggling Families Act, as contained in Public Law 111-5 
     (26 U.S.C. 3304 note), is amended--
       (A) by striking ``December 1, 2010'' each place it appears 
     and inserting ``March 1, 2011'' ; and
       (B) in subsection (c), by striking ``May 1, 2011'' and 
     inserting ``August 1, 2011''.
       (3) Section 5 of the Unemployment Compensation Extension 
     Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-449; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is 
     amended by striking ``April 30, 2011'' and inserting ``July 
     31, 2011''.
       (b) Funding.--Section 4004(e)(1) of the Supplemental 
     Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110-252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 
     note) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end; 
     and
       (2) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the following:
       ``(G) the amendments made by section 2(a)(1) of the 
     Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act; and''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 
     Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 (Public Law 
     111-205; 124 Stat. 2236).

     SEC. 3. OPTION FOR STATES TO TEMPORARILY MODIFY CERTAIN 
                   ``ON'' AND ``OFF'' INDICATORS RELATING TO 
                   EXTENDED BENEFITS.

       (a) Indicators Based on Rate of Insured Unemployment.--
     Section 203(d) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment 
     Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended by 
     inserting before the last sentence the following: ``Effective 
     with respect to compensation for weeks of unemployment 
     beginning after the date of enactment of the Emergency 
     Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act (or, if later, the 
     date established pursuant to State law), and ending on or 
     before March 1, 2011, the State may by law provide that the 
     determination of whether there has been a State `on' or `off' 
     indicator beginning or ending any extended benefit period 
     shall be made under this subsection as if paragraph (1)(A) 
     had been amended by striking `the preceding two calendar 
     years' and inserting `the preceding three calendar years'; 
     except that, notwithstanding any such provision of State law, 
     any week for which there would otherwise be a State `on' 
     indicator shall continue to be such a week and shall not be 
     determined to be a week for which there is a State `off' 
     indicator.''.
       (b) Indicators Based on Rate of Total Unemployment.--
     Section 203(f) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment 
     Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

[[Page H7570]]

       (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
       ``(2) Effective with respect to compensation for weeks of 
     unemployment beginning after the date of enactment of the 
     Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act (or, if 
     later, the date established pursuant to State law), and 
     ending on or before March 1, 2011, the State may by law 
     provide that the determination of whether there has been a 
     State `on' or `off' indicator beginning or ending any 
     extended benefit period shall be made under this subsection 
     as if paragraph (1)(A)(ii) had been amended--
       ``(A) by striking `either (or both)' and inserting `any (or 
     all)'; and
       ``(B) by striking `the preceding 2 calendar years' and 
     inserting `the preceding 3 calendar years'.

     Notwithstanding any provision of a State law described in 
     this paragraph, any week for which there would otherwise be a 
     State `on' indicator shall continue to be such a week and 
     shall not be determined to be a week for which there is a 
     State `off' indicator.''.

     SEC. 4. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

     SEC. 5. EMERGENCY DESIGNATIONS.

       This Act--
       (1) is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to 
     section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 
     (Public Law 111-139; 2 U.S.C. 933(g));
       (2) in the House of Representatives, is designated as an 
     emergency for purposes of pay-as-you-go principles; and
       (3) in the Senate, is designated as an emergency 
     requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs pursuant to 
     section 403(a) of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the 
     concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Levin) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this is called an emergency bill because it is an 
emergency. For millions of people, this is an emergency. Unemployment 
benefits are going to run out in a few days. Therefore, it is an 
emergency for the United States of America. And let me just indicate 
what is at stake here.
  Through January 1 of next year, close to 2 million people will not 
any longer be eligible for benefits. And then, a month later, the 
amount almost doubles. This is an emergency.
  Last night, I was in my office at 9:30 and a person called from 
Atlanta, Georgia, to thank me and to thank Mr. McDermott and to thank 
our party for bringing up this extension.
  I don't know what more any of us want. I don't see how we can go home 
for Thanksgiving when, as a result of failure of benefits, hundreds of 
thousands of people may not have a turkey on their table because they 
can't afford it and the next week may not have the moneys they need to 
meet their daily needs.
  This should be a bipartisan effort. This is a totally human effort. 
This is totally an urgent effort. These are people laid off, people who 
have been looking for work, people who cannot find work. For every job, 
at least five people are looking for employment for that job. I don't 
know what other evidence needs to be brought here. It can be stated 
very briefly and directly.
  If the 2 million people who are going to lose their benefits looking 
for work were brought here so we could see them, would anyone vote 
``no''? Would anyone vote ``no''? Do we need the 2 million here? Can we 
put ourselves in their homes, in their shoes, in their places with 
their families, with their children.
  This is an emergency. This House must act.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1250

  Mr. BOUSTANY. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, well, as Yogi Berra said, This bill is like deja vu 
all over again--and not in a good way.
  The bill before us today is the ninth extension of unemployment 
benefits since mid-2008. Benefits recently stretched up to 99 weeks, or 
almost 2 years, in most States. With the exception of just one bill 
last November, every one of those extensions was not paid for. That's a 
total of $135 billion added to our $14 trillion debt.
  Meanwhile, our Democrat colleagues swore their policies would create 
jobs--but they haven't. Instead of paychecks, millions of Americans 
were left with only an unemployment check. In February 2009, the 
President signed the Democrats' trillion dollar stimulus plan. At that 
time, Democrats promised that the plan would create 3.7 million jobs 
and lower the unemployment rate to 7 percent by now. None of that 
happened.
  Instead, over 2 million more private sector jobs were lost, and 
unemployment spiked to 10 percent while the debt has grown by almost $3 
trillion. A total of 48 out of 50 States have lost jobs since the 
Democrats' stimulus bill passed. Yet here we are again--extending 
unemployment benefits because the Democrats' trillion dollar stimulus 
failed to create the millions of jobs they promised it would. Even more 
sadly, instead of doing this responsibly, this bill will simply add 
another $12 billion to our current mountain of debt.
  We can do better than this. We certainly can do better than this.
  Both Republicans and Democrats support helping the long-term 
unemployed. The chairman of the committee expressed a great deal of 
empathy in his opening statement. We share that empathy. Every one of 
our congressional offices has dealt with families dealing with this 
tragedy of unemployment, but Republicans and even some Democrats want 
to responsibly pay for these benefits. In fact, there are sufficient 
unspent stimulus funds to do just that, to cover the $12 billion cost 
of the bill before us. This is not a new Republican idea or a new idea. 
This is something we have discussed before, but the other side insists 
on bringing this forward, unpaid for.
  The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has proposed cutting 
stimulus to pay for certain measures. Last June, the Democrat leader 
himself, Mr. Hoyer, admitted there was spending fatigue across the 
country, and ``if we have dollars not yet expended in the Recovery 
Act,'' they should be ``applied to'' new spending like this. That would 
be far better than adding to the unchecked growth in spending and debt 
that has already cost us an estimated 1 million jobs.
  The fact is we can both provide this help and pay for it by cutting 
less effective stimulus spending. That's what we should be debating 
today, not a bill called up under special rules that permit no 
amendments and no chance to offer ways to pay for this. Even if this 
were to pass, the sad thing is that there are no plans in the Senate 
for a vote on this bill any time soon. So the fact of the matter is 
this bill is going nowhere.
  The American people know it isn't right to add these costs to our 
already overdrawn national credit card. We all want to help those in 
need, but the American people also know that someone has to pay when 
government spends money, and it shouldn't be our children and our 
grandchildren. The American people sent us here to do a job. We should 
pay for this spending today. We can pay for this spending today, and 
there is no reason why we couldn't bring a bill forward with a way to 
do this, with a way to pay for it.
  So I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this bill 
today. Instead, let's work together to quickly pass a bill to extend 
Federal unemployment benefits while finding a responsible way to pay 
for it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  I say to the gentleman from Louisiana that the people of this country 
who are looking for work don't want empathy; they want the unemployment 
insurance that they worked for, and you're standing in the way. Don't 
send them empathy. Send them what they worked for.
  I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of my time be controlled 
by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), the author of this 
bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.

[[Page H7571]]

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, may I ask what the division of minutes 
is at the moment?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Washington has 16\1/2\ 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Louisiana has 15\1/2\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 6419, which will extend current 
unemployment insurance benefits through February of next year and will 
provide much needed help to unemployed Americans during the holiday 
season.
  From the beginning of the unemployment insurance program 75 years 
ago, we have never cut off benefits for out-of-work Americans when the 
unemployment rates have been this high. Without this extension, 
temporary Federal extended benefits will shut down shortly after 
Thanksgiving, the 27th, denying benefits to 2 million of our fellow 
citizens over the holiday season. It is unthinkable to me that we can 
allow these benefits to lapse during the holiday season and before the 
economic recovery is on solid ground.
  Despite the severity of the Republican economic collapse, which 
started under Mr. Bush, there have been 10 straight months of private 
sector growth under this Democratically controlled Congress and 
administration. Despite the huge accomplishment of digging the American 
economy out of the Republican economic ditch, too many Americans remain 
unemployed. There is still only one available job for every five 
unemployed Americans. To make matters worse, the press is now carrying 
reports that employers around the country are refusing to hire the 
unemployed.
  They're saying to the unemployed, We want to hire somebody who has a 
job to come over and fill our job because we know you were laid off 
because you weren't a good employee, and that's why they let you go. We 
don't want to hire people who aren't worth anything.
  That's the message that's going out in this country now to the 
unemployed. Many of those people are middle class people who have 
worked very hard, and through no fault of their own, their industries 
have collapsed--banking, housing--as a direct result of what the Bush 
administration did--or didn't do, really, which is to have regulated 
Wall Street.
  Unfortunately, the Republicans have already made it clear that, 
instead of helping the middle class, one of their top priorities is to 
give millionaires and billionaires a huge $700 billion break. Now, the 
same people who are saying this should be paid for will be out on this 
floor sometime in the next couple of weeks, saying, We don't have to 
pay for a tax break. Why, that'll pump jobs into the world. All we have 
to do is cut taxes everywhere and give $700 billion to people who make 
more than $500,000 a year--that's okay--but an unemployment check for 
somebody to keep bread on the table and keep a mortgage paid is not 
okay.
  We can't not fund that. This is an emergency.
  People who talk like that on the floor of this House have never been 
unemployed or have never known anybody who has been unemployed. You 
would not talk that way about unemployed people if you knew them.
  Now, this should give every middle class American a lot to think 
about with the results of this last election. This is your first chance 
to observe what you can expect in the next 2 years. The minority leader 
in the other body said, My number one priority is to prevent Barack 
Obama from having a second term. Not public policy. Not jobs for 
people. Not health care for people--but political gain.

                              {time}  1300

  And that's what this is all about. The experts agree--two out of 
every three people who get unemployment benefits are in the middle 
class. We're not talking about people who weren't trying or weren't 
working or weren't doing their part as Americans.
  While the Republicans were bankrupting the country to help the rich 
with one hand, giving tax breaks all over the place, the Republicans 
were using the other hand to push the unemployed middle class of 
America out of their homes and never dealt with the foreclosure issue 
to prevent them from having food on their tables and to keep their 
children from being properly clothed.
  On the campaign trail Republicans called the unemployed ``lazy.'' 
Boy, you haven't met an unemployed person or you would never say that a 
second time to them. And they said that unemployment benefits ``spoil'' 
out of work Americans. They get lazy and they just sit around the house 
and wait for their unemployment check. Those checks aren't that big in 
the first place, and secondly, people don't like to be unemployed in 
this country. People look for work, and they are looking for work and 
they are now being told you've been unemployed for 2 years, we're not 
interested in hiring you. We want somebody who's got a job over here. 
That was on NPR just yesterday. So it isn't made up. That's what's 
going on.
  Some Republicans even question the constitutionality of the 
Unemployment Insurance Program. The health and welfare of the American 
people is unconstitutional, according to some people.
  Fortunately, the American people don't feel the same way. A recent 
poll showed that 86 percent of Americans believe the unemployed really 
want to work. That's what the people think. That's not the political 
rhetoric of people running for election. That's what the people really 
think.
  The election is over now, and Americans have said we want both 
parties to work together to get things done and do it by listening to 
the American people. Americans don't want to push American families 
whose breadwinners lost their jobs through no fault of their own into 
poverty during the holidays.
  I think we should end these debates and extend benefits longer and 
allow benefits to be scaled back as the economy improves. The reason 
we've had all these votes out here is because the Senate is unable to 
do anything. We've tried to extend this for extended periods of time, 
and over in the Senate, they say, well, let's extend it for a month, 
let's see if we can starve them for a month, and then we'll go in. They 
let this program lapse for 3 months over there, and you're telling me 
that we're going to work together. Well, I think we ought to work 
together.
  This is a short-term extension in an effort to see if our Republican 
colleagues will support any kind of help for the unemployed. I am told 
by the other side that there's no plan in the Senate to take up this 
bill. Well, they're waiting to see if we can get it out of here. If you 
don't help, maybe it won't get out of here, but the message to 4 
million Americans will be the Republican Party doesn't care whether you 
have a Christmas or a way to fund your mortgage or a way to put food on 
the table for the first three months of the next year. I hope my 
Republican colleagues will join the American people in supporting this 
bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, I just regret to say that we're hearing 
oversimplifications and many generalizations from the other side.
  Look, this is not one of those you either pass it or you don't types 
of issues here. We could pay for this, and the sad thing is all I'm 
hearing on the other side is a great deal of cynicism. But furthermore, 
look, the American people have spoken about this, and they are saying 
we've got to get a handle on national debt if we're going to get the 
economy going again and create jobs because the American people want 
paychecks. They want good-paying jobs. They want an end to this 
uncertainty.
  We have information from the MacArthur Foundation, a very respected 
organization. They released a poll showing that over 70 percent of 
voters in this month's election say it is very important to reduce the 
national debt. Overwhelmingly, voters want us to reduce the debt by 
cutting spending, but instead of doing this fiscally responsible thing 
and actually paying for this new spending, which we could very easily 
do, the bill before us today does exactly the opposite. It adds $12 
billion to our Nation's debt in a program that's already added $135 
billion to the national debt. The sad thing is, Madam Speaker, we could 
extend these unemployment benefits, and we could pay for them.
  Look, the bill reflects I think a very cynical political maneuver by 
the Democratic leadership because they

[[Page H7572]]

know that the Senate has no plans to pass this unpaid-for bill. We've 
been down this path before, and in fact, the liberal Huffington Post 
has broken the code on really what's going on here. There was a recent 
headline, Jobless Benefits About to Lapse as Senate Democrats Mull 
Strategy. That was a headline on Tuesday. And, No Plans in Senate For a 
Vote on Unemployment Benefits read the headline yesterday. To quote 
Senator Reed from Rhode Island, a Democratic leader on this 
legislation: ``At this point it's not been scheduled. I can't point to 
a specific time it will come up for a vote this week.''
  The American people are tired of the cynicism. They want answers. And 
the sad thing is there's a simple answer on this one, unlike many of 
the other problems our country is facing which are more complex. We 
could extend unemployment benefits and we could pay for it, but our 
friends on the other side of the aisle currently control the House, 
they control the Senate, they control the White House, and they can't 
even get their act together to do this, especially when there are 
Republicans who would be willing to do this extension if it were paid 
for. The simple answer is ``yes'' there is a way to pay for it. It's 
staring us right in the face, and yet our friends across the aisle 
refuse to see this.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. I yield myself 30 additional seconds.
  My friend on the other side clearly understands, I'm sure, the 
legislative process. We put a bill over to the Senate. They can make a 
change. If they want to pay for it, they can pay for it. They are safe, 
they're comfortable, because they know you're going to stop the bill or 
try to stop the bill. They know that the House Republicans are 
determined that they're not going to let this bill through here. So 
they say, all right, we can say we don't have any way to do anything 
with it. My belief is that we put a bill over there, they will pass a 
bill.
  I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I believe that 
the American people want to work. Those who are unemployed want a job. 
Those who are out of work want employment benefits. I don't think that 
there is any excuse that can be given. There is no reason that one can 
conjure up that would say to a person who's unemployed, out of work, 
has no food, can't pay their mortgage, can't enjoy the holidays, that 
there is a reason, especially since they have worked, that they can't 
have benefits to get them through this situation on an emergency basis.
  I am amazed, I am dumbfounded, I can't believe that I'm hearing what 
I'm hearing, that somehow or another the Democrats, in a technical 
sense, are keeping individuals from getting unemployment benefits. I 
would hope that we could change our minds, change our position, and 
know that when we do this for the least of these, then we're doing the 
work that we ought to be doing.
  Let's pass this measure. Provide benefits to the unemployed.


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will take this opportunity to 
remind all Members to address their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, I want to remind our friends on the 
other side that in the past when they did bring the bill up on 
suspension, it failed, and yet when you did on one occasion bring it up 
on regular order, it did pass.
  We all have to work hard to listen to the will of the American 
people. Yesterday, Speaker Pelosi herself said, ``Our consensus is that 
we go out there listening to the American people. It's about jobs. It's 
about reducing the deficit.''
  Yet today, here we are again being asked to increase the deficit by 
another $12 billion. That's another $160 in debt for every family of 
four in the United States, just for 3 months of benefits under one 
program, all on top of the $2.8 trillion in debt we have racked up 
since President Obama took office, a 44 percent increase.

                              {time}  1310

  The question, Madam Speaker, is, Is the Speaker really listening to 
the American people? Because what we heard earlier this month is that 
people want us to provide help to those in need but not add to the 
mountain of debt that we are currently leaving to our children and 
grandchildren.
  The sad thing--again, I repeat--the sad thing, we could have achieved 
both goals today. The Congressional Budget Office has informed us there 
is enough unspent stimulus spending that we can cut to cover the 
additional spending in this bill. It's just unconscionable that the 
other side has not heard the American people about the concerns about 
unfettered debt passed on to our children and grandchildren.
  Again, Mr. Hoyer this past summer suggested we do just that. In June 
he said, ``If we have dollars not yet expended in the Recovery Act,'' 
that they should be ``applied to'' new spending like this. In July, 59 
Democrats signed a letter saying: ``Extending critical, economic 
investments is no more important than paying for them. America is 
facing a debt crisis that is threatening to undermine our economic and 
national security. We can no longer afford to exacerbate the problem 
because the decisions about how to pay for what we spend are getting 
harder.''
  This one is fairly easy. We have a way to pay for it, and yet the 
majority chose to bring this to the floor unpaid for, and without an 
opportunity to even offer an amendment.
  So I ask our colleagues on the other side, Are you listening to the 
American people? Madam Speaker, are they even listening to each other? 
And do they agree with the Speaker that it's about debt? All we're 
hearing are mixed signals. If so, join us in voting down this unpaid-
for bill and begin working together on a new bill, which we could do 
very quickly, that does right by the unemployed as well as our children 
and our grandchildren. That's what the American people expect of us 
today.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, could you tell us how much time we have 
left?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Washington has 7 minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from Louisiana has 9\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from New York (Mrs. Maloney).
  Mrs. MALONEY. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, the Joint Economic Committee, which I chair, released 
a report today that finds that if Congress fails to extend the Federal 
unemployment insurance benefits program, the unintended consequences 
could be extremely serious. Serious not just for the 2 million 
Americans who would see their benefits expire in December, but 
extremely serious for the larger economy as well.
  Prematurely ending the program would drain our economy of some $80 
billion in purchasing power, just as our fragile economy is beginning 
to recover. This would result in the loss of over 1 million jobs over 
the next year. Even now, there are five Americans looking for work for 
every job opening in the land; and more than 40 percent of those 
unemployed have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, including over 
159,000 in New York State, with some 95,000 in my home of New York 
City. Choosing to vote against an extension, and thus add a million 
Americans to the ranks of the unemployed, cannot possibly be considered 
as a wise economic policy choice.
  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office ranks the stimulative 
effects of unemployment benefits as one of the most effective policies 
to increase growth and employment that they have studied, and the 
President's Council of Economic Advisers estimates that every dollar 
spent on unemployment insurance benefits increases the gross domestic 
product by $1.60. Economists predict that without extended benefits, 
the economy will suffer, consumer spending will fall by 0.5 percent, 
and economic growth will be reduced by almost 0.5 percent.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. I yield the gentlelady an additional 30 seconds.
  Mrs. MALONEY. The facts and the numbers in the new JEC report make it 
clear that extending this program benefits those who need our help 
most, benefits the larger economy, and thus benefits us all.

[[Page H7573]]

  I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Again I say, there was a way to pay for this. We have to be frank 
with the American people on this. Jobless benefits have cost so far 
$319 billion, and yet unemployment is still at 9.6 percent; and we've 
seen really nothing coming from the other side who has controlled the 
majority in the House, controlled the majority in the Senate, 
controlled the White House. We've seen nothing to help small businesses 
get going again to hire. We've seen nothing to promote competitiveness 
in the U.S. economy. Their answer is to continue to extend unemployment 
benefits unpaid for.
  Now there's agreement. We're not disagreeing about extending the 
unemployment benefits at this time. We're saying, let's do it in a 
responsible way and pay for it.
  It wasn't always this way. This is the ninth attempt to extend this 
program. And when Democrats passed their only paid-for unemployment 
insurance extender bill in November of 2009--the only one that was paid 
for--the Obama administration hailed that ``fiscally responsible 
approach to expanding unemployment benefits,'' adding that ``fiscal 
responsibility is central to the medium-term recovery of the economy 
and the creation of jobs.''
  That was from the administration's statement of policy about the 
Democrats' one paid-for UI extension bill, which was H.R. 4548. There 
were 156 Republicans who supported that November 2009 bill.
  By the administration's own logic, the Democrats' latest fiscally 
irresponsible bill, H.R. 6419, which increases the deficit by an 
estimated $12 billion, undermines the medium-term recovery of the 
economy and the creation of jobs. The sad thing, Madam Speaker, is 
this: we could extend unemployment benefits and pay for it. This is not 
a hard one. There are harder decisions coming with the debt that our 
country is facing and economic uncertainty. Republicans are ready to 
move forward and get this country going again and restore American 
competitiveness, but I see our friends on the other side of the aisle 
are up to their old ways.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I have found that the other side is very adroit at finding some 
reason not to do anything to help the middle class. Now, there is 
plenty of evidence to suggest that the people in this country are not 
interested in cutting off food and housing and medical coverage for 
people who are unemployed in this country. And to use these arguments 
about, Oh, we're going to get the money from the stimulus money, I defy 
anybody on this floor at this moment to stand up and tell me where that 
stimulus money is and what the impact would be if you cut it because 
that money was allocated to various agencies, some to pay salaries for 
schoolteachers, some to pay salaries for policemen and firemen and 
local governments, some to pay the States for Medicaid.
  All this money is out there. Maybe some of it hasn't yet been spent, 
but it's allocated. Some of it is for construction projects. I suppose, 
just like that Governor in New Jersey who thinks it's really 
politically smart to stop a public works project under the Hudson River 
because then he can use that money to pave potholes in New Jersey, and 
he puts the construction workers out of work all over the place.

                              {time}  1320

  Those infrastructure projects, you can't spend all the money on the 
first day. It does take a little while to build it, and you pay it out 
as you build it. Now, you know that. Republicans are just being 
deceptive. They think because it still is there in the Treasury, it can 
be used for something else. Well, it might have been committed for 
something else.
  But not my Republican friends. This emergency that these 4\1/2\ 
million people have over here who have no benefits coming by the end of 
March, ``You folks understand that you shouldn't worry about this. I 
mean, the Speaker will explain it to you that you just have to wait 
until we can find where that money is in the budget.''
  This is an emergency for people who have no check coming.
  We would all like this thing to be all over. There isn't anybody on 
this floor, Republican or Democrat, who wouldn't like the mess that was 
created by the Bush administration to be over with. It isn't.
  And the problem is, a guy in my district said, you know, Jim, I can 
tell you what the problem with America is, and your Republican side has 
a bad dose of this. He said, It's the belief in the microwave. If they 
have a problem, they come down to the refrigerator. They open the 
refrigerator, pull something out, close the refrigerator, open the 
microwave, throw it in, hit two buttons and wait 30 seconds and they've 
got lunch. They think everything can be solved like that.
  It took a long time for Mr. Bush to create the mess that we are now 
dealing with, and it isn't going to be over in 30 seconds like the 
microwave dinner is.
  And the fact is that you've got people who contradict you directly. 
The real budget--no one's going to ever accuse me of being a big budget 
warrior or a deficit warrior. I'm no deficit hawk. But Bob Bixby, 
President of the Concord Coalition, that organization dedicated to 
eliminating Federal budget deficits said, and I quote: ``As a deficit 
hawk, I wouldn't worry about extending unemployment benefits. It is not 
going to add to the long-term structural deficit, and it does address a 
serious need. I just feel like unemployment benefits wandered into the 
wrong street corner at the wrong time, and now they're getting 
mugged.''
  He's absolutely right. For us to pick on the unemployment benefits as 
the problem for this deficit, wait till we have the debate on taxes on 
this floor and I hear people whining and whining around here about 
people making more than half a million dollars and we've got to give 
them a tax cut.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 6419.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
important legislation to extend unemployment benefits through February 
2011.
  We must continue to help families who are struggling to make ends 
meet. While we are continuing to see encouraging signs of economic 
recovery, the unemployment rate remains too high. If we do not extend 
emergency unemployment benefits, approximately two million Americans--
including 14,600 Marylanders--will lose those benefits by the end of 
February.
  Many Americans remain out of work through no fault of their own. 
Ending emergency unemployment assistance will not only be devastating 
for these individuals and their families, but it will also hurt the 
economy as a whole by undermining consumer confidence and demand. If 
individuals are unable to put food on the table and keep a roof over 
their heads, the entire economy could slip back into recession. In 
fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently found that 
because unemployment benefits increase consumer demand and spending, 
previous extensions of unemployment insurance benefits increased both 
employment and job retention more than what it would have been 
otherwise in 2009.
  The President and Congress have been working together to bring our 
economy back from the brink. However, there is much more work to do to 
create jobs and help put Americans back to work.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this much-needed 
legislation.
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I strongly support the 
extension of unemployment compensation. Indeed, there is no issue more 
important to our Nation right now than job creation. At a time when 
over 11 percent of Florida residents are desperately searching for 
employment and struggling to survive, it is simply mind blowing that we 
are not extending these benefits.
  Never before has America turned its back on millions of American 
families as they struggled to make ends meet with this high level of 
unemployment. Yet the same Republicans, who want to increase our 
deficit by extending massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, 
were willing to leave average Americans to fend for themselves and vote 
against this bill.
  Certainly, extending unemployment benefits is not only good for the 
unemployed; it is also one of the best and fastest ways to stimulate 
the economy. According to the Economic Policy Institute, unemployment 
benefits were responsible for creating more than 1 million jobs since 
the recession started, and adding almost 2 percent to the gross 
domestic product.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, it is with strong conviction 
that I urge my colleagues to support this short-term extension of

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critical unemployment benefits for our citizens. As our Nation and my 
state continue to struggle out of this recession, this bill will 
provide vital assistance to almost 400,000 Illinoisans as we enter 
December. Failure to extend unemployment will directly affect 
approximately two million Americans, including 125,000 citizens from 
Illinois. If policymakers vote to block this critical lifeline, these 
125,000 Illinoisans living in a state with a 10.8 percent unemployment 
rate will experience incredible hardship. Their time in unemployment 
has been difficult, trying to find work when the jobs are few and far 
between, trying to cover food, housing, and transportation for the 
families on an average of $290 a week, which typically replaces only 
half of the average family's expenses.
  A government is supposed to help its people in times of need. Failure 
to extend these benefits would be the first time since the unemployment 
program's inception that Congress allowed such critical aid to lapse 
when unemployment remained high for extended periods of time. It is not 
only these families who will suffer, it is our businesses. The retail 
sector has been hard hit by this recession. Cutting unemployment 
benefits for two million people will take a tremendous toll on these 
businesses as well.
  In addition to this short-term extension, I strongly support 
determining ways to help those who remain unemployed beyond the 99 
weeks currently covered. Long-term unemployment is an unfortunate 
reality for Chicago and for my constituents. Further, we should extend 
the TANF Emergency funds as well. This program directly helped over 
26,000 individuals and close to 5,000 employers in Illinois by creating 
subsidized jobs program, a much-needed boost to the economy in the 
midst of the worst recession in decades. This program put $9 million 
dollars into the pockets of hard working Illinoisans until Congress 
allowed it to lapse at the end of September.
  Passing this bill today tells our citizens that we are working for 
them. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote for its passage.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of 
extending emergency unemployment. This legislation, of which I am a 
proud cosponsor, is a common sense, non-controversial measure that will 
help American families.
  The unemployment situation in our country is a national emergency. 
Over the past two years, millions of jobs have been lost as a result of 
the worst recession in 70 years, caused by Wall Street excesses and an 
unregulated housing market. Millions of Americans are unemployed 
today--but through no fault of their own. Our neighbors, our friends, 
and our families are the ones who agonize as the economy slowly 
recovers. We cannot afford to abandon the unemployed members of the 
American workforce, and I won't stand by silently and allow these 
lifelines to expire.
  Unemployment benefits help millions of unemployed Americans help meet 
the basic needs of rent, food, and transportation while they search for 
jobs. Any family receiving unemployment insurance would tell you that 
these benefits do not provide for a luxurious lifestyle without 
financial worries. These same families would tell you that without 
these benefits, they will lose their home, lose their car, and lose the 
ability to feed their children. If the Federal Government does not 
assist these out-of-work Americans with emergency unemployment 
compensation, then they will fall to the next level of the social 
safety net, requiring public housing assistance, seeking medical care 
in hospital emergency room, or turning to food shelves to put dinner on 
the table.
  We have seen the proof that these benefits significantly stimulate 
economic growth while making the difference in the lives of struggling 
Americans. Economists from both sides of the aisle agree that 
unemployment benefits go directly into the economy, stimulating the 
kind of activity that creates jobs. And we have never before let 
federal emergency unemployment expire while the unemployment rate is 
anywhere close to this high.
  I challenge my Republican colleagues who say this legislation is 
unaffordable to come to the floor right now and tell me how they can 
pay to give the richest 2 percent of Americans $700 billion while 
holding this lifeline hostage. Every single vote against this extension 
is a vote to impoverish more American families. Every single vote 
against this legislation is a vote against economic growth. Every 
single vote against this bill is a vote against the middle class.
  Our economy will recover. But until our economic growth is fully 
restored, I simply refuse to abandon America's families during their 
time of greatest need.
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6419, 
the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act.
  Madam Speaker, 14.8 million Americans are unemployed. A majority of 
them are workers that endure historic long-term unemployment. Economist 
Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimated that 
at the current pace of job growth, it would take twenty years for the 
country to return to its pre-recession rate of unemployment. The 
American people cannot afford to wait another 20 years for the country 
to fully recover from the longest recession it has experienced in 
seventy years.
  Some argue that passing unemployment benefits will add to the deficit 
and therefore should be opposed. Research tells us otherwise. EPI 
estimates that the effect of the $65 billion spent on extending 
benefits through 2011 is actually ``one of the most efficient things 
that can be done to create new jobs'' and will increase the Gross 
Domestic Product (GDP) by ``an estimated $104.7 billion.'' This 
increase in the GDP will translate into approximately a half-million 
jobs.
  Madam Speaker, it would be a disgrace for Congress to adjourn for the 
Thanksgiving break without giving those who need our assistance the 
help they deserve. This is not a hand out. This is our responsibility.
  Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise to support the extension of 
emergency Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits for the millions of 
American workers who are unable to find work. If the incoming majority 
is committed to extending tax cuts to increase the wealth of 
millionaires, I certainly hope they are equally committed to helping 
Americans who have lost their jobs to stay in their homes and put food 
on their tables over the holidays.
  UI benefits are a lifeline for millions of Americans. Allowing these 
benefits to expire at the end of the month would mean that two million 
people will lose their income, including over 450,000 in my State of 
California. These are people who want to work, but when there are five 
applicants for every new job, the odds are against them. For these 
individuals, the recession has most definitely not ended.
  People call my office every day worried about what will happen to 
them when they lose their unemployment benefits. As we approach the 
holiday season, we should not tell these individuals that their country 
will no longer support them in the midst of the worst economy since the 
Great Depression. We have never cut off support when the unemployment 
rate was this high. We must not begin now. Unemployment benefits kept 
3.3 million Americans out of poverty in 2009, including almost 1 
million children. UI benefits created two dollars of economic activity 
for every dollar spent in 2009. Extending benefits protects families 
and stimulates the growth of our economy.
  Congress has a responsibility to protect families struggling to find 
work. H.R. 6419 is a chance for us to fulfill that responsibility. I 
urge all of my colleagues to side with American workers and support 
this bill.
  Mr. CONYERS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Emergency 
Unemployment Compensation Continuation Act which would extend emergency 
unemployment compensation and other benefits through February 2011. Our 
government has always provided federal unemployment benefits during 
economic downturns until the job market has rebounded. If Congress does 
not act, over two million unemployed workers will lose their benefits 
this holiday season.
  Today, unemployment levels are unacceptably high. In my home State of 
Michigan it is over 12 percent. In the past election, voters 
overwhelmingly cited the economy and job market as their highest 
concerns. It is highly ironic then that Republicans made electoral 
gains even though they have blocked multiple attempts to extend the 
unemployment benefits and many other job creating bills. Furthermore, 
Republicans oppose today's measure while providing unwavering support 
for permanent extension of Bush tax cuts for millionaires and 
billionaires. Republicans are willing to give a helping hand to the 
rich while ignoring the taxpaying American worker. It should be clear 
to everyone where the Republican Party stands and who they will be 
willing to fight for.
  Madam Speaker, with power comes responsibility. The Republicans won 
the election and now they have a responsibility to govern, instead of 
simply saying ``no'' over and over again. We simply cannot adjourn for 
Thanksgiving, a holiday that symbolizes gratitude and appreciation, 
while turning our back to our neighbors in need. I urge my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to come together in a show of compassion for 
our fellow citizens during this season of giving and support today's 
legislation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Levin) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6419, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the

[[Page H7575]]

Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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