Patty Murray: “the people of my home State of Washington are hurting in every corner of my State. Families are concerned about what the…”

“the people of my home State of Washington are hurting in every corner of my State. Families are concerned about what the future will bring. In the last 2 years alone in my home State of Washington, we have faced an earthquake, an energy crisis, the bursting of the high tech bubble, the departure of Boeing, the loss of thousands of jobs, and now we face a State budget deficit of $2.5 billion which could easily translate into major cuts in education, health care, and infrastructure. For much of the last 2 years, Washington State was ranked either first or second in the nation in unemployment rates. We have lost a staggering 74,000 jobs in the last 18 months. These are sobering numbers. Behind every one of these statistics is a man or a woman who is trying to support their family, keep food on the table and a roof over their head. Throughout our country the economic picture is just as bleak. The United States has lost 2.1 million private sector jobs since January of 2001. Despite the President's mammoth $1.7 trillion tax cut last year, the economy is continuing to sputter and Americans are continuing to lose their jobs. When the President signed that tax cut he said it would ``provide an important boost at an important time for our economy.'' That was 20 months ago, May 16, 2001. What are the results? In December alone, 101,000 more Americans lost their jobs through no fault of their own.”