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Opening Remarks on Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA)
June 11, 2008

Thank you Chairman Rangel for your leadership on behalf of the American people.

Every Member in the House is elected by the people and today we are going to find out if Members remember who they work for. Before us today is H.R. 5749 – The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008- legislation that I introduced because it is time government works for the people and extends a helping hand to those who need a break.

This legislation should pass the House without a single no vote and that is why it has been placed on the Suspension Calendar by the Speaker.  No Member who has read a newspaper or spent time in their Congressional District talking to constituents lately could possibly miss the fact that the economy is in serious trouble and so are millions of Americans.  And it will just keep getting worse until we act.

Last Friday we saw the largest one-month jump in the unemployment rate in 22 years.  Does anyone doubt the gravity of this situation? Across America, the unemployment rate is rising; it’s over 7 percent in Michigan and above 6 percent in Alaska. Eighteen percent of the unemployed have not been able to find a job for at least six months.  Everywhere you look, people are worried about their home and their family and their future.  No one feels safe no matter where they live.The Iraq war has claimed another casualty – the US economy.  This wasteful, needless war has undermined our economy and put us on a steep downward slide.  Devastating energy and food prices have the American people up against a wall at a time when businesses are shedding jobs to cope.  It’s been this way for months and it is time to provide some relief.

HR 5749 would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in every State to workers exhausting regular unemployment compensation. Another 13 weeks of benefits would be available for people in states where the unemployment rate rise above 6 percent. The average UI benefit is less than $300 a week – that’s poverty level assistance for a family struggling in an economy with $4 a gallon gas.

There is not a congressional district in this country that isn’t feeling the effects of this downturn.  Every Member in this chamber has constituents who need help – and they are the people we work for. The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 is a lifeboat to help the American people stay afloat during increasingly tough economic times.   Anyone who votes against this bill is voting to deny reality.

Sometimes the American people watch our proceedings out of interest.  Today they are watching out of an urgent need to receive some help.  If we fail to launch this lifeboat, the American people will sink the party responsible for leaving them adrift in the November election. This is a moment of truth and it is happening in plain view across America. I urge the House to pass H.R. 5749.

Thank you.  I reserve the balance of my time.