Unemployment Compensation Extension Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman MCDERMOTT for yielding. I also want to commend him and the ranking member for expeditiously getting this legislation to the floor. Mr. Speaker, when President Obama took office, we were in the middle of an economic recession which showed itself for real in December of 2007. Notwithstanding economic recovery activities, stimulus activities, green initiatives and other efforts that are beginning to take hold, we still hear the song. And I turned my radio on just the other day, and I heard a song from probably the seventies that said, Every morning about this time, she bring my breakfast to the bed crying, get a job.

It said, When I read the papers, I read it through and through, trying to see if there is any work for me to do.

Unfortunately for many people, there is no work for them to do at the moment, but we know that the time is coming. But in the meantime, they need help. And the help that we can give them today is the help of knowing that their unemployment benefits are extended. That's the very least that we can do while we continue to work to try to make sure that our economy regroups, re-energizes itself so that that song does not have to be played, ``Get a Job.''

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