Extending Unemployment Benefits

Floor Speech

EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS -- (Senate - June 17, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, after 7 long years of the Bush administration, our country's economy is in the worst condition it has been in decades. In my State of Rhode Island this week, a gallon of gas cost $4.11. Grocery bills are up. Utility bills are up. Affordable housing is scarce. Many homes are in foreclosure. Health care costs remain high. As a blistering hot summer approaches, there seems to be no end in sight. These are difficult times for many families. But for millions of Americans who are looking for a job today, the challenges seem almost insurmountable. Today, Senate Republicans showed yet again that they are more loyal to the failed economic policies of President Bush than to Americans who right now need our help. Majority Leader Reid and Senate Democrats pushed for quick passage of legislation to extend unemployment benefits. But Senate Republicans said no, even though last month the national unemployment rate saw its biggest 1-month increase in over 20 years, reaching a 4-year high of 5.5 percent.

In Rhode Island, things were a bit worse. Last month the unemployment rate in our ocean State exceeded 6 percent. That is one of the highest in the country. These men and women are being forced to deal with both the deep disappointment of losing their jobs and the challenge of trying to make ends meet for their families in an economy that is in recession.

One of these people is Brian Perry. Brian lives in East Providence, RI. He wrote me earlier this month to ask about the possibility of extending unemployment benefits. Brian had been a law clerk at a firm in downtown Providence, but he has been unemployed since January 11.

Since January 11, he has applied unsuccessfully for more than 65 jobs. One of those positions had more than 300 applicants. Brian is receiving unemployment insurance, but it is not enough. Because he couldn't afford to pay both his mortgage and his monthly COBRA payments, Brian has been without health insurance since the end of January.

In the United States of America, a working man trying to find a job without health insurance.

He says it has become more and more difficult just to afford groceries, and some nights he goes to bed hungry. He could go to a food pantry, of course, but he has not yet because he thinks there are too many people who are worse off than he is. Brian's unemployment benefits expire at the end of July.

People such as Brian need our help, and they need it now. What are we here for, if not to help our fellow Americans at times such as this? The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act would help. It would temporarily extend unemployment benefits 13 weeks beyond the ordinary 26-week eligibility period. In States such as Rhode Island, where people have been hardest hit, jobless workers would receive an additional 13 weeks of unemployment compensation. This critical measure was modeled after a bill introduced in January by Senator Ted Kennedy, a true champion of working Americans. It passed the House of Representatives last week with a strong bipartisan vote.

As my colleagues know, unemployment insurance is just that--insurance. Millions of Americans go out pounding the pavement each and every day looking for work to support themselves and their families. They find work, they work hard, and they earn their paychecks. As part of an employee's compensation, employers pay into the unemployment insurance system so that workers will be covered if they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Unemployment benefits help hard-working men and women in this terrible Bush economy cover bills and living expenses while they search for a new job. The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act could help over 3 million Americans pay the mortgage or the rent or feed their families, as they continue to navigate a perilous job market. In Rhode Island alone, there are more than 18,000 people in need of a job, and their benefits either already have or will soon run out.

I have heard the argument that people would not be motivated to find work if we extend this benefit; that they need this little spur to get off the couch and out into the workforce. In my experience, this is a ridiculous argument, a demeaning argument, one that is completely disengaged from the day-to-day experience of regular Rhode Islanders, from ordinary Americans, a true beltway special of an argument. This is a hard-working country, and it is in tough economic times. Good people are hurting. We should gather together around this legislation, support them as they try to get back into the workforce, and pass this piece of legislation.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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