[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, I wish to discuss the circumstances many 
unemployed families face.
  Millions of Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their 
own and now face serious financial consequences.
  Many families are having trouble paying the rent or their mortgage, 
or they are struggling to buy necessities for their children.
  On February 6, the Senate voted, again, to try to extend unemployment 
benefits for the long-term unemployed who are down on their luck.
  But we still fell one vote short. We needed one more Republican.
  I hope one of my colleagues on the Republican side will join us soon 
to get that legislation over the top and help folks who have been 
hurting since the first of the year. Getting this benefit extended is 
only one of the problems that unemployed families have faced in my 
State.
  Thousands of unemployed Floridians have had their benefits delayed by 
flaws in the State's new automated unemployment system.
  The website is called ``Florida CONNECT.''
  But ironically it has left many Floridians disconnected.
  We started hearing about some of the problems people were facing soon 
after the website was launched late last year.
  When I started hearing about these reports, I asked U.S. Labor 
Secretary Thomas Perez to investigate.
  And I am pleased to report that the Department of Labor is now 
working with the State to sort out who should be getting their checks.
  I am told most of the people who were stuck in this mess have either 
started getting the benefits they deserve or have received a letter 
directing them to a human being they can talk to and resolve possible 
problems with their applications.
  I trust that the State of Florida will hold anyone responsible for 
that flawed website completely accountable for this mess.
  In the meantime I hope that we here in the Congress will do our part 
to help folks that are down and out and pass the extension of benefits 
for long-term unemployed.

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