[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 164 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1958-E1959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN SUPPORT OF CONTINUING EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION BENEFITS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 18, 2012

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr Speaker, although our economy is gradually 
improving after one of the worst economic crises in our Nation's 
history, the economic crisis remains a daily reality for 12 million 
unemployed workers and for the millions of Americans experiencing 
record levels of food insecurity, poverty, and foreclosure.
  Unemployment benefits are a critical lifeline for our citizens and 
our economy, keeping 2.3 million Americans (including over 600,000 
children) from falling into poverty in 2011, reducing the poverty rate 
for families by 40 percent in 2011, and generating $1.52 in economic 
activity for every $1 in economic compensation. The non-partisan 
Congressional Budget Office

[[Page E1959]]

estimates that extending these benefits another year will create 
300,000 much-needed jobs.
  Now is not the time to cut unemployment; millions of Americans rely 
on unemployment assistance to survive. In my home state of Illinois 
during 2012, approximately 320,000 people relied on regular 
unemployment benefits and almost 140,000 additional Illinoisans 
depended on emergency unemployment. As Illinois and our nation continue 
to struggle out of this recession, failure to extend this critical 
lifeline will impose incredible hardship on approximately two million 
Americans. Failure to extend this critical lifeline means that--in 
addition to 90,000 Illinoisans who will abruptly lose benefits on 
December 29th--an additional 2,800 Illinoisans will lose benefits each 
week in 2013 if Republicans insist on slashing federal emergency 
assistance.
  Our nation continues to experience historic levels of long-term 
unemployment. Most unemployed Americans no longer receive unemployment 
insurance benefits, reflecting the crisis that exists for the millions 
of Americans who have exhausted their benefits and still cannot find 
work. Indeed, over 40.8 percent of all unemployed workers, more than 5 
million people, have been out of work for more than 6 months. These 
Americans lost their jobs through no fault of their own, they 
tirelessly try to find work when the jobs are few and far between, and 
they struggle to cover basic food, housing, and transportation costs 
for their families on an average of $290 a week, a pittance which 
typically replaces only half of the average family's expenses.
  Now is not the time to cut unemployment; our economy needs federal 
unemployment benefits to support its growth. In addition to cruelly 
stripping millions of Americans of vital assistance just days after 
Christmas, a Republican failure to continue unemployment benefits would 
devastate our fragile recovery. Moody's economist, Mark Zandi, 
estimates that slashing emergency benefits this year will reduce 
economic growth in 2013 by $58 billion. Cutting unemployment benefits 
for two million people will take a tremendous toll on businesses as 
well as families. Even with the creation of millions of new private-
sector jobs and improvements in the ratio of unemployed workers to job 
openings, jobs remain hard to get. There are 4 million fewer jobs in 
the economy now than at the beginning of the recession. Further, there 
are still 3.4 unemployed workers for each available job, worse than at 
any point during the 2001 recession and dramatically higher than the 
1.8 people per job at the outset of the recession in December 2007.
  Government leaders have a responsibility to protect Americans and our 
country, especially during times of national crisis. Failure to 
continue unemployment benefits will harm our economic recovery and 
disproportionately harm groups of Americans who already are hardest hit 
by the economic crisis--including older Americans, low-income 
Americans, Americans from racial and ethnic minority groups, and 
Americans without a high school diploma. Congress must quickly act to 
support our citizens and our economic recovery by continuing emergency 
unemployment benefits.

                          ____________________