Continuing Extension Act Of 2010 - Continued

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, for those who are following the Senate activities today, we are considering the extension of unemployment benefits. It is a debate which has gone on repeatedly. I see the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has come to the Chamber and has been sitting patiently on the floor trying to work this through, and I think we may be close to a vote on this matter very shortly.

If I am not mistaken, if we are successful in passing this extension, it will extend unemployment benefits to the end of May. I hope we do not face this again between now and then because not only does it tie up the Senate for a lengthy period of time, but it creates real uncertainty across America.

Madam President, 212,000 people had their unemployment benefits cut off in the United States last week because we were gone and the benefits expired; so this week another 212,000 people. In my home State of Illinois, 16,000 people a week lose their unemployment benefits because of the decision by the Senate not to move forward and extend those unemployment checks.

An unemployment check in my home State is about $300 a week. Some have come to the floor and argued we should not give unemployment benefits because it makes people lazy. If they are getting $300 a week, they will not go looking for jobs. I wonder when it was, if ever, that a Senator tried to live on $300 a week. I think it would be very difficult, in most cases impossible, for those who are used to a lifestyle that is much more expensive.

So extending these benefits, in my estimation, is not only humane, it is good economic judgment. The money given to people out of work is money that is spent immediately for the necessities of life. It is not saved or invested. They go out and spend it on what they need, whether it is on utility bills or rent or food or clothing--whatever it might be. So it is money that is injected straight into the economy.

When Republicans come to the floor, they say: Wait a minute. At some point, with our national debt, we have to pay for this. I say to them: How would you pay for it? They say: We pay for it by cutting spending on projects that create jobs. Wait a minute. If you cut spending on projects that create jobs, there are more people unemployed. More people unemployed need more benefits. We cannot end the recession until we focus on getting people back to work.

One of the key areas Senator Baucus on the Senate Finance Committee has worked on is putting money into small businesses across America. Many of us believe small businesses are going to be the engine that brings us out of this recession. So when Senator Baucus and the Finance Committee create tax credits for businesses that hire the unemployed or reduce their payroll taxes for those who hire the unemployed or have new deductions for expensing and the purchase of capital equipment, we are doing everything we can to put money into those small businesses. The argument that we should stop spending on those things will mean the recession goes on longer.

I hope we can reach a point soon where we put the question of unemployment behind us. There should be a debate on the national debt, and there will be. I do not know if it is a great honor, but Senator Reid, the majority leader, has appointed me to the Deficit Commission. I met today with Erskine Bowles, who was the head of the Small Business Administration under President Clinton, as well as Alan Simpson, a former U.S. Senator from Wyoming, who chair this commission.

We are going to start, in a couple weeks, our inquiry and debate on what to do about our national debt. It is one that is long overdue. But I think if we are honest about this, we realize it will take some thoughtful consideration and some time to come up with an approach that really deals with the debt in a humane and sensible way, but does not stop our recovery in this recession. So we are tasked with doing that.

Senator Baucus is a member of that commission as well. We will spend some time together talking about it, I am sure. We have to report by the end of the year. In the meantime, we will be watching the appropriations bills that come through here to cut the waste out of the spending if there is some in some of these agencies. And I am sure we can find some.

In the meantime, let's not make the unemployed across America the victims of this debate. Let us give them some certainty that the basics, the necessities of life, which they need because they have lost a job through no fault of their own, are going to be provided for. We want to make certain if they lost their lifesavings and stand to lose their home, we give them at least a little bit of a helping hand while they look for work.

In my home State of Illinois, the unemployment figures came out today, and, sadly, they have not gone down. It tells me we were late to the recession and we will probably be slow to the recovery. I am sorry to report that, but I think it may be the case. But, in the meantime, we have to create the climate for small business expansion, and we have to create the safety net for those who are out of work across America. The passage of this bill will help us to do that.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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