On the recordJuly 9, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it's now been 919 days since I arrived in Congress--919 days--and the Republican leadership has still not allowed a single vote on serious legislation to address our unemployment crisis. After learning of Friday's lackluster job numbers, many pundits and politicians actually cheered. It could have been worse, they said. They also said things are returning to normal. Try telling that to any of the 11.8 million Americans who are still out of work, or to the millions more who are underemployed or have given up looking for work. According to Friday's job numbers, the average length of unemployment is now at 35 weeks. Before the Great Recession, the average was just 16 weeks. Mr. Speaker, it's no wonder people are losing hope. It's our obligation to restore that hope. As we begin this July session, let's commit to passing a comprehensive bill to restore unemployment for young people, recent grads, and the long-unemployed. Mr. Speaker, our mantra should be: jobs, jobs, jobs. ____________________
