Maria Cantwell: “I know we are here today to talk about TANF, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. That program is a…”

“I know we are here today to talk about TANF, the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. That program is a safety net for the American public. I want to talk about another safety net program--the safety net for American workers--that will provide its last benefit today, March 31. Today is the last day any American worker will receive benefits from the Temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, which has been providing the last of the Federal unemployment benefits to those who came onto the program before it expired on December 21. As of today, there are 1.1 million people who have exhausted their State benefit without any Federal program to pick them up. This is more than a dozen times that I have been to the floor to talk about this program and the need to reinstate the Federal unemployment benefits program. I think my colleagues clearly understand why I am here. In fact, we have had a majority of my colleagues in the Senate and a majority of my colleagues in the House support a reinstatement of this Federal program for unemployment benefits. The reason they have supported this program is that our economy has not recovered from the recession and has not created enough jobs to get America back to work. That means Americans who have been unemployed through no fault of their own, who are going out, hitting the pavement, trying to find jobs, can't find work.”