The Unemployment Problem in America

THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM IN AMERICA

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, we just completed 30 hours of debate on judicial nominees, an obviously important debate for all Members who participated. But it is time for us to address the unemployment problem in America, and the fact that this body cannot adjourn for the year without passing an unemployment benefit extension.

Many of my colleagues will remember last year we were at this same point, when unemployment benefits were going to expire in December. We had a debate about whether that was necessary to do by the time we adjourned. I can tell you that not a lot has changed in Washington State. We still have 7.6-percent unemployment and a very high level at the national level, at 6 percent. Americans want to know whether they are going to have an extension of those benefits.

During the Bush and Clinton administrations we extended unemployment benefits for an extension of over 30 weeks during that time period because we thought it was important to make sure people were covered. During the economic downturn, unemployment benefits are a stimulus. For every dollar spent on unemployment benefits it generates $2.15 as far as the economy-that is mortgage payments that can be made, health care benefits that can be extended.

While my colleagues think last year's solution of coming back in January and fixing this unemployment benefit problem was a solution, I guarantee it was not. Adjourning from here without expanding unemployment benefits is like putting a lump of coal in the stockings of Americans at Christmastime.

There were individuals in my State who, because of the failure of us acting, really did make economic choices about their future. I had a constituent who took a big chunk out of her pension program at a 30-percent penalty, basically trading her long-term economic future off for short-term returns because we hadn't given her a commitment on unemployment benefits.

UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST-S. 1853

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to legislative session and the Finance Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1853, a bill to extend unemployment benefit insurance for displaced workers, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration, that the bill be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Senator from Nevada.

Mr. ENSIGN. Reserving the right to object, I ask unanimous consent that I may ask the Senator from Washington a question while reserving my right to object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, in asking this question, is the Senator from Washington aware, back in 1993 when the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House the rate of unemployment was higher than it is today and that every Democrat in the House and the Senate and the President signed a bill to terminate the program when the unemployment rate was higher? Is the Senator from Washington aware of that fact?

Ms. CANTWELL. I am not aware to what the Senator from Nevada is referring. I know during the Bush and Clinton administrations, with a richer package of 20 weeks after a Federal program on extension, richer than the 13 weeks that we have now, we extended that over a 30-month period of time.

So far this administration has only done that over a 22-month period of time. While we all want the economy to recover, and we all want to put Americans back to work-I guarantee these individuals would rather have a paycheck than an unemployment check-we need to do a better job making sure that we are making a commitment to unemployment benefits before we adjourn for the session.

We just spent all this time debating judicial nominees. I think it was a hardy debate on both sides. But let's give the American people and those who are suffering from unemployment the benefit of knowing that they will get this benefit extension before we adjourn.

Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, the fact is, when the Democrats were in control of all three bodies, the Democrats terminated the program of extending unemployment benefits at the Federal level. They terminated the program.

More people were unemployed at that time when they terminated the program. It is good enough today. The economy is recovering. It is producing jobs. Therefore, I object.