Unanimous Consent Request-S 1853

UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST-S. 1853

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I know we are going to move on to other legislation and I am sure we are going to hear from our leaders today about what the rest of the week's schedule looks like and possible strategy for adjournment, but I think it is critically important before we adjourn we address the unemployment needs of Americans. While we in this body last year adjourned without fully taking care of the unemployed and the unemployment benefit extension program, I think it is unconscionable we would do that this year.

While the economy may have slightly improved, we still have huge unemployment across the country. For us in the State of Washington, with nearly 7½ percent unemployment, this problem continues.

Unemployment benefit insurance is a stimulus. For every dollar paid in unemployment benefits, it generates $2.15 into the economy. This is what we need to be doing to take care of Americans. We cannot continue to give tax breaks to the wealthiest of Americans and tax incentives in the Energy bill and tax breaks in a lot of other programs and not take care of basic Americans who would rather have a job but do not have that opportunity and are depending on those unemployment benefits to make mortgage and health care payments.

Last year we really did leave Americans with a lump of coal in their stocking. Instead of saying to them we are going to make sure that as the economy starts to recover we are taking care of you to give you that security, we said we are going to terminate this program. Even though the Senate did its homework and the House failed to pass this, we left many Americans without that security.

Constituents of mine basically took money out of their long-term pension savings at huge penalties just to make up for the unemployment benefit program that would not continue. It is imperative before we adjourn we pass the Unemployment Benefit Program extension.

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

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?

Mr. ENSIGN. Reserving the right to object, and I will object, very simply put, when the Democrats were in control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Presidency back in 1993, the unemployment rate, when they terminated the program, was 6.4 percent nationally. It is now 6.0 percent, lower than it was in 1993 when every Democrat voted to terminate the program. So with that, I object.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.