[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5141-5142]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise today to speak about an issue 
which should be under the category of ``unfinished business,'' and is a 
priority for the American people, and that is unemployment insurance. 
In this case it is emergency unemployment compensation and the trauma 
so many people have lived through--not just over weeks--over the last 
few months, and which, of course, was preceded by a very difficult 
economy.
  The bill that is before the Senate is bipartisan, and that is good 
news and the way it should be. It is a bipartisan bill to provide what 
can only be described as an essential lifeline for individuals who have 
been out of work. Millions of people have been out of work in the so-
called long-term unemployment category. This lifeline is often directly 
connected to the life and daily struggles of middle-class families who 
rely upon this program to stay afloat as they seek work.
  Sometimes I think there is a misconception--or some may want to make 
this argument in a deliberate way--that somehow emergency unemployment 
compensation is for people who are out of work but not looking for 
work. In fact, these are folks who are looking for work day after day 
and week after week. I would have preferred a longer-term agreement 
rather than just the 5 months that are proposed in the agreement. It is 
very important that we have finally reached a point where we can pass a 
measure that will provide protection and support for folks as they look 
for work.
  Thursday we had a procedural vote which was bipartisan to move the 
bill forward. Thankfully, this week the Senate will be voting on the 
bill itself. We hope the House will follow suit and provide this kind 
of much-needed boost for those who are out of work.
  The numbers are staggering. For example, when we look at the numbers 
in Pennsylvania, almost 75,000 people immediately stopped receiving 
unemployment benefits when the emergency unemployment compensation 
expired on December 28. I can't even imagine what that was like for an 
individual or for an individual and his or her family--3 days after 
Christmas, right in the middle of the holiday season. It is supposed to 
be a time of joy. It is a time when families are spending lots of time 
together in ways they cannot often do during the year. To have their 
unemployment run out on December 28 had to be horrific for those 
individuals.
  Between December 28 and March 15--in addition to the 75,000 I 
mentioned for Pennsylvania--over 110,000 Pennsylvanians lost their 
benefits. Through May--the bill would go to June 1 and be retroactive 
to December 28--it is estimated that 158,400 Pennsylvanians and almost 
2.8 million Americans will have lost their emergency unemployment 
compensation. They are the folks who have been hurting and will be 
hurting unless we take action, and they are the ones, of course, who 
will benefit if we take action.
  Unemployment insurance doesn't just provide an economic relief to 
that individual and his or her family. It is also an economic jump-
starter. For example, in 2012, Mark Zandi, a respected economist--I 
will say for the record he has roots in Pennsylvania, but he is 
respected across the board--said that for every dollar of emergency 
unemployment compensation, there is $1.52 in new economic activity. It 
is that old ``spend a buck,'' and what do you get for a buck? In the 
case of emergency unemployment insurance, you spend a buck and you get 
a buck fifty-two in return. I don't care what market you are in. That 
is a pretty good return--especially when it is helping people so 
substantially. This is about providing that lifeline for those families 
at a time when they really need it, and it is also about the economic 
benefits for the rest of us. A lot of people have heard these numbers 
as well--analyses that specifically focus on the extension of benefits 
in 2014. They have also indicated--by using other data--the impact it 
has on the economy.
  I will give an example. The Economic Policy Institute has estimated 
that extending unemployment benefits in 2014 would generate $37.8 
billion in economic activity. That is the impact for this year as found 
by the Economic Policy Institute--$37.8 billion.
  This is about all of us. This is not about a group of people over 
here we hope to help. That is a wonderful sentiment. This is about 
whether they are going to have an opportunity--just a fair shot--to 
have a chance to get back into the economy and back into work. It is 
also about the rest of us in another way as well. It is about whether 
we are going to make sure everyone has an opportunity for that fair 
shot. Of course, it is also about the rest of us because we benefit 
when this program continues because of the economic boost and the $1.52 
for the buck you spend on it, as well as the $37.8 billion of activity.
  We have heard about the numbers and the rationale for continuing this 
program, both of which I would argue are not just compelling but 
urgent. But what about the real people. There are two people in my 
hometown--one I had spoken to in the past and the second person was 
someone I had never met before. I just want to give an example of these 
two individuals and their lives in Scranton, PA, where I live--
Lackawanna County--which has a very high unemployment rate.
  The first person is Joe Walsh. Joe has lived in my hometown all of 
his life. He was a tradesman for 40 years, so he had a very specific 
skill that allowed him to work and support his family. He worked as a 
superintendent for 14 years, and in 2008 the company he worked for 
needed to downsize, and he lost his position and immediately went on 
unemployment insurance. He worked on and off over the years for 
contractors who needed temporary workers, but he was unable to find 
anything steady, which is a story we have heard too often.
  On December 28 of 2013--the day I mentioned before--Joe exceeded his 
unemployment insurance benefits and has not received any support since 
then, but he continues to look for work and file his claims. Joe is 
married and has three grown children. He says he feels ``lucky'' 
because his wife works and is able to keep their household afloat 
during a very difficult time.
  Joe is 63 years old, and for all of those years and all of those 
decades he has had a skill and work ethic that allowed him to work. He 
said that if he had a mortgage now, he would not be able to survive. He 
finds it difficult to find the kind of work he had before--tradesman 
work, which requires a skill.
  The second person we had a press conference with is someone I met in 
our neighborhood--we go to the same church--Vera Radice. Vera has 
spoken to me before about her circumstances. Over the years she was 
with several banking institutions. She was employed steadily from 
February of 1995 until July of 2014. She was doing good work for all of 
those years for two different banking institutions.
  She has a Bachelor of Science degree from Cookstown University and an 
associate's degree from Luzerne County Community College. She has the 
education you often need to find the job you want, and she has almost 
20 years of experience. Now she is left with volunteering and looking 
for work. She has attended all of the CareerLink workshops in 
Lackawanna County. She spends at least 3 days a week at CareerLink 
searching for work over and over.
  These are the people--and not just tens of thousands or hundreds of 
thousands, but literally millions of others across the country--who are 
in the

[[Page 5142]]

same situation as they are. It is time we did the job we were elected 
to do and put this emergency unemployment compensation program back 
into place and give people a fair shot--nothing else. They are just 
asking for a fair shot to find work so they can support their families, 
be a part of the economy, a part of this country, and the world of work 
they were so much a part of for most of their lives.
  I would like to see all of us come together in a bipartisan fashion 
and get this passed and get it to the House. I hope our House 
colleagues are listening not just to my voice but, more importantly, I 
hope they are listening to the voices of people who they represent--the 
Veras and Joes of the world.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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