[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 32005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. Last year, President Bush 
and the Republican Congress refused to extend unemployment insurance 
before it expired, leaving millions out in the cold. This year, they 
are, again, showing little interest in providing relief to those 
searching for jobs. To me, that is wrong.
  Despite modest gains in the economy, the job market remains abysmal. 
Over 1.1 million Californians remain out of work, looking for jobs. 
Long-term unemployment last month was the highest in 20 years, with 
over 20 percent of those without jobs looking for work for more than 6 
months.
  This is especially true in my district where unemployment rates 
remain very high. In East Los Angeles, the area that I represent, the 
unemployment rate is well over 10.7 percent, and in the year 2001 it 
was 8.3, so it has gone up. In the city that I live in, in El Monte, it 
was at 6.7 in the year 2001. Now, it is at 8.7. It has not gone down.
  While the President hails the recent uptick in the economic figures, 
he fails to mention the unemployment among Latinos and other minorities 
which continues to rise.
  Let us leave no family behind and provide unemployment insurance 
benefits for all.

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