Political Quotes

“we are in the midst of a debate about extending unemployment insurance for millions of Americans who are unemployed, some of whom have been out of work for some time. It is a problem for the country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans who want to work but who have stopped looking for a job is 3.1 million. Over 91 million Americans are outside the labor force entirely. According to a recent report in CNN Money: Only about 63 percent of Americans over the age of 16 participate in the job market, meaning they either have a job or are just looking for one. That is nearly the lowest level since 1978, driven partly by baby boomers retiring but also by workers who had simply given up hope after long and fruitless job searches. As a matter of fact, we saw at our budget hearing this morning a chart which showed the decline in workers by age group, and it was interesting. The younger workers had the biggest decline in percentage working, and the older, 62 and above, are working at a greater rate than they were in previous years. So that is an interesting statistic. But we do have a problem, particularly among a lot of our younger people finding work. At the same time we are having these difficulties, this administration has engaged in a systematic dismantling of the protections our immigration laws provide for American workers, producing for them--our workers--lower wages and higher unemployment. That is just a fact.…”