On the recordNovember 17, 2011
This past week, I joined with Congressman Lloyd Doggett and with many other Democratic colleagues to introduce the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. If Congress fails to pass this bill by the end of the year, Americans who have lost their jobs not by any fault of their own will begin losing their unemployment benefits in January. By mid-February, 2.1 million will have lost their benefits, and by the end of 2012, six million will have, which includes 34,600 Tennesseans. Congress has never allowed emergency unemployment benefits to expire when the unemployment rate is anywhere close to where it is now--9 percent. This extension not only will help the unemployed, but it will also promote economic recovery. The Congressional Budget Office has declared that unemployment benefits are ``both timely and cost-effective in spurring economic activity and employment.'' The Economic Policy Institute has estimated that preventing UI benefits from expiring could prevent the loss of over 500,000 jobs. They are timely, targeted and temporary--the best way to stimulate our economy. In addition, there are benefits for the States that are having problems with their unemployment insurance programs and with certain extensions there. I urge the Republicans to join with us in passing this Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. ____________________
