Objection to S. 1896 and H.R. 1664

OBJECTION TO S. 1896 AND H.R. 1664

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, last November, I announced my intention to object to any unanimous consent request for the Senate to take up S. 1896, the Tax Relief Extension Act, and H.R. 1664, the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act. I did so because these bills were the only relevant amendable legislation expected to be taken up in the Senate before the need of the last session and, therefore, they provided the only opportunity to extend unemployment benefits before Federal unemployment benefits expired at the end of the year.

Oregon currently has the second highest unemployment rate in the Nation with an unemployment rate of 7.3 percent. Extension of unemployment benefits is critical for many Oregonians who have or will soon run out of unemployment.

In order to restore or continue benefits to unemployed workers in Oregon and many other States, I will be pushing for passage of S. 2006, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act. S. 2006 restores Federal unemployment benefits and reforms a "look back" rule that affects Oregon and other high unemployment States as part of the legislation.

Because there is now legislation before the Senate to restore Federal benefits for unemployed workers in Oregon and other States, I will no longer object to any unanimous consent request for the Senate to take up S. 1896 or H.R. 1664.