Dan Coats: “I come here to speak about a couple items. We are now in a second-day delay as the majority leader and his caucus decide…”

“I come here to speak about a couple items. We are now in a second-day delay as the majority leader and his caucus decide whether Republicans will be allowed to offer alternatives and to offer amendments to the proposal before us, and that is extension of the Unemployment Insurance Act. I was one of six who voted for the motion to proceed for the very purpose of achieving the opportunity to offer ideas which I have had and to allow others on our side of the aisle to offer their ideas as to how we can improve this program, and how we ought to address it at this point in our continuing effort to struggle out of the great recession now into its fifth year. Unemployment is still high in my State--over 7 percent--as a number of States, which is unacceptable, and particularly into the fifth year after a recession. The growth has been so anemic and so tepid, we are sort of staggering our way into a better position. Nevertheless, while some people are finding jobs and getting back to work, there are many who aren't. That is a serious subject and something we ought to be debating and talking about. Unemployment insurance is one of the programs which has been proposed to help those in need. There are people who are genuinely in need of that help and have made every possible effort to get back to work and, for many reasons, have not been able to do so.…”