[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS FOR GEORGIANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Georgia (Ms. Bourdeaux) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BOURDEAUX. Madam Speaker, I rise today to address a serious 
problem facing our country, one that many of us have been dealing with 
firsthand since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. As I do so, I 
also want to acknowledge that while we are headed in the right 
direction, earlier this week we crossed the solemn milestone of more 
than 600,000 American lives lost in the pandemic.
  Today, I speak for millions of Americans from across the country who 
lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19. They then did exactly what 
they had been told to do and filed for unemployment insurance, and then 
they waited. But in Georgia, for many, that unemployment check never 
came.
  Many of us have received a flood of calls and emails regarding this 
issue. Currently, my office is processing nearly 150 cases dealing with 
unemployment insurance, our second highest of any issue area, and the 
stories are truly frustrating.
  There is a substitute teacher in my district who couldn't find work 
due to the COVID pandemic. When Georgia schools reopened to in-person 
instruction, she was unable to go back, as she lives with a high-risk 
family member. In April of 2020, she applied for unemployment benefits 
and received them for just a short amount of time before they 
mysteriously stopped, even though she is still eligible. She contacted 
my office in February, and we have sent five inquiries on her behalf, 
and not a word of response from the Georgia Department of Labor.

  We have another person who was approved for benefits in July and 
began filing claims weekly but has never received a single cent. That 
person contacted our office in March. We sent four inquiries. Not a 
word in response from the Georgia Department of Labor.
  Let me be clear: This isn't just the slow gears of government 
bureaucracy. Every day delayed means a human being has to decide 
between putting food on the table or keeping a roof over their heads. 
One such person my office has talked to had their car repossessed and 
are on the verge of eviction because their government can't get it 
together.
  Along with the rest of the Georgia Democratic congressional 
delegation, I sent a letter in March asking the U.S. Department of 
Labor's Office of the Inspector General to conduct an audit of the 
Georgia Department of Labor, and they recently replied.
  What they found was that they couldn't figure out what was going on 
because Georgia couldn't even supply basic data on a number of key 
issues, including the timeliness of benefit distribution and the number 
of Georgians who requested the federally funded unemployment insurance 
supplement.
  There are two other States which were unable to provide data on the 
timeliness of claims through all three Federal enhanced unemployment 
insurance programs. There were four other States which apparently did 
not report the required claims volume data. Georgia is the only State 
that was unable to provide data on either.
  In other words, the Georgia Department of Labor stands out as 
uniquely unable, by either choice or competence, to report on its 
administration of enhanced unemployment benefits.
  While factors such as initial understaffing and limited technology 
may have prevented the Georgia Department of Labor from processing 
claims, after over a year and after over 67 million in Federal dollars 
to help the State, extensive questions remain about how the agency 
plans to identify solutions to address the serious backlog that 
currently exists.
  Georgians are lawfully entitled to the benefits they applied for. 
They are also entitled to transparency and accountability from their 
government. It is time for answers and for solutions.

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