Unemployment Extension

Floor Speech

UNEMPLOYMENT EXTENSION -- (Senate - October 15, 2009)

Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. This bill will extend at least 14 weeks of unemployment benefits to workers across the country who will exhaust their benefits by the end of the year.

This the second time I have come to the floor to urge those who are holding up this critical legislation to stop blocking its passage.

This week we learned that Wall Street firms are expected to pay out a record $140 billion in compensation. While the economy seems to have turned around for Wall Street executives, it sure hasn't turned around for millions of American workers who still can't find a job.

If we can bail out the big banks that got us into this financial mess, shouldn't this Senate be able to act quickly to help the people hit hardest by this recession--unemployed workers?

Apparently not, because there are Members of this Senate who are playing partisan political games and delaying an extension of unemployment benefits. This needs to stop.

Today, more 5 million workers have been unemployed for 6 months or longer. Through no fault of their own, millions of Americans cannot find work because there are now more than 6 unemployed workers for each job opening. Until the job market improves, we have a responsibility to help these workers keep food on the table and pay the mortgage.

Not only is this the right thing to do for families, it is the right investment to make in our economy. An effective stimulus is timely, targeted and temporary, and that's how this extension is designed.

This extension is temporary. It is targeted at those who have been unemployed for more than 59 weeks and have exhausted their benefits. And no one can question that it is timely.

Unemployment compensation is money that gets spent immediately on necessities. People who are out of work need this money to help pay rent and mortgages, buy food, and pay for gas.

So when we extend unemployment benefits, we are not just helping workers who have lost their jobs, we are helping small businesses across the country by boosting demand for their products and services.

In fact, economists say that dollar-for-dollar, extending unemployment benefits is one of the most cost effective actions we can take to stimulate the economy.

Temporary extensions of unemployment benefits are an especially effective stimulus when the long-term unemployment rate is high, and, unfortunately, that is the situation today. Nationally, the number of long-term unemployed--those jobless for 27 weeks or more--rose to 5.4 million in September. In my home State, New Hampshire, the number of long-term unemployed has more than tripled in the past year.

I do not understand why any Senator would delay an extension of unemployment compensation that will help workers and small businesses in every single State.

People are counting on us to act now. American workers who have exhausted unemployment benefits cannot wait another week to pay the rent or buy groceries.

I urge my colleagues to stop the games and pass this critical extension without further delay.

Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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