Today, returned from the six-week August recess to vote on the state aid bill, House Democrats put forward legislation to create a fifth tier of unemployment
“„Right now, there are more long-term jobless Americans than we’ve ever had on record, and we can’t just let them all fall off a cliff. I don’t believe how we can cut and run from helping unemployed workers when there are five of them competing for every available job. You only have to hear from a few unemployed workers to know how hard they are looking for work and to feel their sheer sense of desperation. Are we really prepared to just stand by and watch them sink into abject poverty?
“„The Bush administration and Congressional Republicans presided over the implosion of the housing market and world economic collapse, and handed us the worst economy in 70 years. Ending assistance to the long-term unemployed will reduce consumer demand right at the point when the economy is struggling to get back on its feet. It will surely increase the number of homes going into foreclosure. And it will drive some individuals permanently out of the labor force. All of these outcomes will increase our nation’s budget deficit. But even worse, they will bring about a crippling deficit of hope for the future.