Historic Jump in Job Losses Demands Immediate Action

HISTORIC JUMP IN JOB LOSSES DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ACTION -- (House of Representatives - June 11, 2008)

(Mr. ELLISON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, today the House will vote to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks to help workers out as they continue to look for a job.

Mr. Speaker, the grim numbers of five consecutive months of job losses is yet another sign that President Bush's economic policies have utterly failed the American people. The unemployment rate has surged from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in May, representing the biggest one month jump in more than 2 decades, and climbing to the highest level in nearly 4 years.

These statistics are not just numbers to more than 1.5 million Americans who have seen their unemployment benefits expire simply because there are not enough jobs to go around. So today the House will vote to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks to help these workers. Democrats have been pushing to extend unemployment benefits since the beginning of the year, but have faced stiff opposition from the President and congressional Republicans.

Mr. Speaker, with job losses so far this year totaling 324,000, American families can wait no longer. Thanks to this Democratic Congress, today we are going to get some relief.

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