[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2008-H2009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE NEW CHANCE FOR A NEW START IN LIFE ACT OF 2014

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I do believe that we in this country 
have an obligation, commitment, and duty--and just simply out of 
friendship--to be concerned about the American people in the many ways 
that they come to this Congress or to their Members of Congress or to 
their elected officials. After contributing over the years to make 
America great, when they are in their time of need, it is most 
appropriate for us to respond.
  It is now going on almost a year that we have not responded to 
hardworking Americans who, over the years, have contributed taxes. 
Maybe some of them are veterans who served in the United States 
military and are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and now in 
their time of need we are fiddling and dillydallying. Unfortunately, we 
are doing so because our friends on the other side of the aisle cannot 
recognize that, but for the grace of God, there go I.
  No, these individuals are not standing in line to get unemployment 
insurance. They are standing in line to apply for jobs. Because the 
people who are eligible for unemployment insurance are individuals who 
have worked most every day of their life, but, unfortunately, they have 
found in times of economic upswings and downswings, maybe because of 
their training or maybe because of being a recent veteran, that they 
are not able to get a job immediately.
  This Congress has delayed over and over again where our friends on 
the other side of the aisle and those Republicans in the other body 
claim that they cannot offer one vote to be able to pass unemployment 
insurance.
  These individuals need our commitment, America's commitment, as they 
have given a commitment to us. Right now in America, there are now 48 
million Americans living in poverty, 22 million children. Some of the 
individuals here were not at minimum wage, but they are individuals 
that are working and making minimum wage and can't make it either.
  We must confront these issues. There must be the attitude of the Good 
Samaritan in this Congress. I have introduced H.R. 3888, the New Chance 
for a New Start in Life Act of 2014. It provides grants to nonprofits 
and State and local governments to train individuals for the emerging 
industries, the new jobs, so that individuals such as those waiting in 
line for employment can find employment. I would like to add that 
legislation as we move forward on the extension of unemployment 
insurance--1.3 million, 1.5 million and growing, because every week 
some individual who is unemployed maxes out on the 26 weeks of what 
they get in unemployment insurance in the State. That is why this is 
called emergency unemployment insurance. That is why it is called 
insurance, because it covers individuals who have worked, who have 
contributed and who have worked.
  So it is disappointing that we are here again not being able to 
extend the unemployment insurance again, not being able to put on the 
floor of the House and get a vote for increasing the minimum wage to 
$10.10, a bill that has been filed for more than a year, and to be able 
to look working families directly in the eye and suggest that they can 
survive on less than the increase of the minimum wage.
  There are businesses that will support this. There are businesses who 
recognize that, as they provide for their employee, that employee 
churns into the economy. That employee is a consumer. That employee 
tries to buy a house or pays their rent or goes out and buys items for 
their children or for their elderly parents or for themselves.

[[Page H2009]]

  Why don't we understand that investment is what America is all about? 
Because America is not broke, and we have the opportunity to invest and 
to create more research and development, but we are living under the 
umbrella with the big elephant in the room--sequester. That doesn't 
make sense, because this country is one of the richest countries in the 
world.
  I can assure you that, if we invest in America, we will create jobs, 
and those jobs will then churn the economy again and continue to bring 
down the debt. I don't know why a commonsense approach to building this 
economy up should not be the direction of this country.
  Yesterday, I spoke at a high-speed rail summit. It is very clear that 
a building of high-speed rail will create thousands of jobs and 
increase mobility of Americans, but yet the image is that we are broke, 
and that is a very sad commentary.
  As I listened to the ads that were utilized in my State of Texas, 
individuals not running for Congress or the United States Senate but 
running for State offices, all they can talk about is standing up 
against Obama. I want to stand with President Obama and stand with him 
to build this country and make it greater. That should be the message: 
invest in people. That is what will make America the Nation that all 
have looked to.

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