[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 2 (Monday, January 6, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S18]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we have the opportunity today to take care 
of some very important unfinished business. We left town last year 
without ensuring that millions of American jobseekers could retain 
access to vital unemployment insurance. I hope we correct this and 
restore the Federal unemployment program, the Emergency Unemployment 
Compensation program, which was allowed to expire on December 28.
  Unemployment insurance has helped tens of millions of Americans 
weather the storm of the difficult economy over the last several years. 
It has helped workers put food on the table, kept a roof over their 
heads, and kept millions out of poverty.
  But because Congress has so far failed to extend it, 1.3 million 
Americans were abruptly cut off from their vital unemployment insurance 
the week after Christmas. And over the course of this year, another 3.6 
million Americans will be cut off from unemployment insurance as they 
exhaust their State benefits and have nowhere else to turn. That is a 
total of 4.9 million Americans--including 35,500 Iowans. They have 
spent 6 months or more trying to find new work, going out and pounding 
the pavement day after day, but must now worry about how they and their 
families and children are going to survive. How will they keep up with 
their heating bill, their rent, their car payment, or their mortgage?
  We used to all agree here in Washington that if you lose your job 
through no fault of your own, especially at a time of chronic 
unemployment, you should have some support while you're looking for new 
work. The American people certainly agree. A poll released last week 
shows that 55 percent of voters say that Congress should act to 
maintain the program.
  Unfortunately, some people in this chamber seem to think that the 
misfortune of losing a job means that these hardworking folks are to 
blame, or that they don't deserve this basic lifeline. Some here in the 
Senate have even called it a ``disservice'' to continue this program. 
That kind of harshness toward people who are trying to do the right 
thing but who are victims of circumstance is simply wrong.
  Jobseekers are not sitting around watching TV and collecting 
compensation they don't deserve. In fact, participation in the 
unemployment insurance program requires that workers have a significant 
work history--which means they have paid into the system and earned 
this insurance. Collecting on the insurance also requires workers to 
have lost their job through no fault of their own, and to be actively 
looking for work. Participants in the program are playing by the rules. 
It is now our responsibility to make sure that workers who are out of 
luck in this economy have some basic income to make ends meet.
  The fact is times are still tough and jobs are hard to come by. For 
every job opening there are three job seekers. That is why so many 
millions of workers have been searching for new work for such a long 
time. The American people know this, too. In last week's poll, 57 
percent of voters said that the unemployed ``would rather work, but 
cannot find a job in today's economy.''
  Although the payments under the Federal program were modest--after 
cuts due to sequestration, payments averaged just $269 per week--these 
funds were crucial for keeping households afloat. For many, this is 
their last lifeline. If Congress fails to restore the Federal program, 
millions of people will face real economic devastation.
  Also, we have to remember that unemployment insurance is not just a 
lifeline for families, but for our economy as a whole. After all, one 
of the best ways to grow our economy and to create jobs is to support 
spending power. And that is exactly what unemployment insurance does. 
When unemployed workers can continue to pay their bills, businesses can 
continue to make sales and provide services, and the economy grows. The 
Congressional Budget Office has found that unemployment insurance is 
one of the most efficient policy tools we have to improve economic 
growth. If the Federal unemployment insurance program is restored and 
extended through 2014, it will increase GDP by 0.2 percent and create 
200,000 jobs. Those jobs will be lost if we do not act.
  Congress has a long history of acting to ensure basic security for 
working people during tough economic times. In the past, when the job 
market was this challenging, politicians on both sides of the aisle 
agreed that the Federal Government had an obligation to step in and 
help the long-term unemployed while they are struggling to find a work. 
Indeed, the current program of extended unemployment benefits was put 
in place in 2008 by President George W. Bush when the unemployment rate 
was 5.6 percent. While unemployment is falling, it is still at a high 
rate, 7.0 percent. And that's just the official rate. Unofficially, 
when we include those folks who want to work full-time but can only 
find part-time work and those who have given up actively looking for 
work, the rate is actually 13.2 percent.
  Long-term unemployment has been at record highs for years. Currently 
37 percent of unemployed workers have been looking for new work for at 
least 6 months. Congress has never allowed Federal unemployment 
insurance to expire when more than 23 percent of unemployed workers 
were long-term unemployed.
  Our economy is recovering, but we are not there yet. American 
jobseekers and their families still need Federal unemployment 
insurance. Our economy needs these families to have some basic means of 
survival. There is no justification for not restoring the current 
program. This is a modest, short-term extension of 3 months. I would 
prefer to see us approve a year-long extension, so that families who 
rely on the program have peace of mind that they will not be cut off 
from this lifeline again. But I am pleased that Senator Heller has 
joined with Senator Reed, myself, and others to put forward this 
proposal.
  Congress has an obligation to restore and continue the Federal 
unemployment insurance program to ensure that Americans and their 
families can survive while trying to get back on their feet and find 
new work. They are depending on us. I urge the Senate to act to restore 
the Federal unemployment insurance program.

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