Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008

Floor Speech

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - October 03, 2008)

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Ms. HIRONO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership on this very important issue.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6867, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008. We heard this morning that the national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in September and 9.5 million Americans are out of work, 2.2 million more unemployed workers than just 1 year ago.

The unemployment rate in Hawaii has gone up from 2.7 percent in August 2007, one of the lowest in the country, to 4.2 percent in August of 2008. That increase amounted to 10,800 more people out of work in my State in just 1 year. The 28,100 unemployed men and women in Hawaii are struggling to pay their mortgages, health premiums and energy costs while they continue to look for work in the middle of an economic downturn.

Many Hawaii businesses have closed their doors or laid off workers in the last year, including Aloha Airlines, ATA, Maui Land and Pine, and Norwegian Cruise Line. The Hawaii economy is struggling. Tourism, agriculture and retail are all down, making it harder for people in our State to find new jobs.

Congress must act now to provide help for the 9.5 million Americans who are out of work. Nearly 800,000 of these workers are projected to exhaust their extended unemployment benefits this month. Over the next 3 months, over 2,400 unemployed workers in Hawaii will exhaust their benefits, leaving thousands of Hawaii families out of work and out of money.

We have before us an important bill that would extend these benefits for 7 weeks for the thousands of unemployed in Hawaii and across our country. I urge a yes vote on this measure.

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