[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18272-18273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION

  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I came to the floor this afternoon to 
speak on behalf of thousands of families in my home State of Washington 
who stand to lose everything they have because a few Republican 
Senators continue to put politics ahead of policy. Men and women in my 
State from Seattle to Spokane, who lost their jobs through no fault of 
their own, get up every single day; they scour the want ads; they send 
out their resumes and desperately try to find work in an economy that 
continues to struggle. These workers do not want to be where they are. 
They would like nothing more than to be back on the job doing what many 
of them have been doing for years--working hard and adding value to 
their companies and contributing to their communities and providing for 
their families.
  But while they struggle to find work, many of them depend on the 
unemployment insurance programs we put in place to keep their heads 
above water. This support has allowed these families to put food on the 
table, to stay in their homes, and to pay for their children's health 
care. These programs are not extravagant. But for a lot of our workers 
today, they made all the difference.
  Workers such as a woman named Judy Curtis, who lives in Mill Creek, 
WA, wrote to my office urging us to do everything we could to 
reauthorize this program. She is a single mom who worked hard her whole 
life to support herself and her developmentally disabled son Sean. She 
told me she has been laid off twice since this downturn began and has 
been looking for a new job every day but without any luck.
  Her unemployment insurance is going to be cut off on January 15 
unless we reauthorize it. She does not know how she and her son are 
going to make it if that happens. So it is because of stories like hers 
that I am so disappointed we are once again throwing families into a 
state of uncertainty and turmoil by allowing these emergency 
unemployment programs to expire today. It does not make any sense.
  Our economy still has a long way to go on the road to recovery. There 
are five job seekers for every open position today. The unemployment 
rate stands at 9.6 percent, and Senate Republicans think now is a good 
time to cut families off from the support on which they depend? We 
cannot allow this to happen. We cannot sit on the sidelines while more 
families are pushed into bankruptcy and lose their health care and 
their homes are foreclosed on. We cannot stand by and watch as our 
working families who have already

[[Page 18273]]

been pushed to the brink by this financial crisis--that they did not 
create by the way--are now shoved to the edge through no fault of their 
own. It is wrong and it does not make sense. It does not make sense to 
pull billions of dollars out of our economy. It does not make sense to 
remove purchasing power from so many families. And it does not make 
sense to lose the multiplier effect of these funds that keep millions 
of workers on the job. It certainly does not make any sense to do this 
right before the holidays.
  I have to say, I find it very interesting that some of the Senators 
who oppose extending this support for middle-class families are the 
very same ones who have no problem extending the Bush tax cuts for the 
richest Americans that will cost us almost $1 trillion. They talk about 
helping the economy. But economists across the board agree that 
unemployment insurance programs are one of the best ways to provide a 
much needed boost. So for those Republicans it is not about the 
deficit, it is not about what is best for the economy, it is certainly 
not about good policy, it is about politics, plain and simple.
  I am going to keep fighting to maintain these emergency unemployment 
compensation benefits through next year for Judy Curtis's family, for 
thousands of families like hers across Washington State, and for 
millions in America. These programs were not meant to continue 
indefinitely. But until our economy gets back on track, it would be 
devastating to cut those families off from this critical lifeline now.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant editor of the Daily Digest proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of Colorado). Without objection, it 
is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWN of Ohio. I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 10 
minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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