[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17553]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    LACK OF JOBS, NOT LACK OF DESIRE

  (Mr. DOGGETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. DOGGETT. As families gather this next week for Thanksgiving, some 
6 million Americans will be left wondering whether they will be able to 
secure a job before their Federal unemployment coverage expires. They 
are people like Jesse, a retired Navy veteran in San Antonio who has 
applied for over 300 jobs unsuccessfully.
  Sadly, some Republicans continue to blame the unemployment problem on 
the unemployed, even though there are about four people for every job 
opening in America today. Too many remain jobless, not for lack of 
wanting to work, but for a lack of work.
  Let's continue to encourage more job creation. But for those who lack 
a job, we also must preserve the lifeline of extended unemployment 
benefits. It's only the turkey that ought to be carved at Thanksgiving, 
not the unemployed's ability to share in the bounty of America.

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