Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003-Continued

[Page S6451]

JOBS AND GROWTH TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2003—CONTINUED

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise in strong support of the amendment offered by Senator Kennedy to extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans. These fellow citizens are out of work through no fault of their own. They need our help, and by extending their benefits, we will also help stimulate our struggling economy.

In my own State of Washington, we have lost over 80,000 jobs since 9/11. The Kennedy amendment would help some 102,000 workers in my state who will exhaust their benefits over the next few months. It will help nearly 4 million workers nationwide.

These are people who want to work and who are looking for jobs but can't find them in our slow economy. It is not easy to find a job in this economy. Just listen to these statistics. The average number of jobs for which unemployed adults have applied is 29. The average for those who have been unemployed for 9 months or more is 39, and unemployed adults over 44 years old apply for an average of 42 jobs before they find work.

Despite these efforts, these workers are now being threatened with mortgage foreclosures and repossession of their vehicles. One in four unemployed workers has had to move to other housing or move in with friends or relatives.

They are facing problems in health care. For instance, one-third of the unemployed were once covered by health insurance, but now they have lost these benefits because they have lost their jobs.

They are spending less on food, medical care and clothing for their children.

I know these workers will help provide a real and immediate stimulus for our economy because they will buy groceries, pay their utility bills, make house payments and pay for other essential needs for their day to day existence. Nearly 80 percent of these workers say that unemployment benefits have been very important in helping their families meet their basic needs.

In fact, a recent study by Economy.com found that the single most effective stimulus measure would be an extension of unemployment compensation benefits. The study also found that each dollar dedicated to extending the program would boost the economy by $1.73, while each dollar connected to reducing the taxation of dividends would boost the economy by just nine cents.

So I urge my colleagues to extend unemployment benefits for these workers. They need and deserve our help, and helping them will directly help our economy.