Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008

SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (Extensions of Remarks - June 20, 2008)

* Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth yesterday shocked Michigan when it released its unemployment figures. Michigan's unemployment rate has risen from 6.9 percent in April to 8.5 percent in May. This is the highest rate in our State since October of 1992. Regrettably, we are now one month away from recording our eighth straight year of payroll job losses.

* It is in this context that my constituents are hearing the news that Congress is debating providing additional unemployment benefits which are desperately needed by too many working families in my State. Last week this House passed H.R. 5749, the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, with nearly 2/3 of the Members of the House voting in favor. This bill would provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to unemployed workers in every State. Unemployed workers in States with exceptionally high unemployment rates, like Michigan, would receive an additional 13 weeks of benefits beyond that. Unfortunately, the provision granting workers in States like Michigan an additional 13 weeks of benefits, which received very strong bipartisan support in the House just last week, is not included in this supplemental appropriations bill.

* The unemployment benefits provision in this supplemental provides just 13 additional weeks for every State. It does not provide any extra help for States that need it the most. States like Michigan where the unemployed are having great difficulty finding work because there are so few jobs to be had. Workers have little opportunity to move to other areas to find work because they can't sell their homes, and they are having difficulty driving far distances to try and find a new job because of the high cost of gas. Michigan, with the worst unemployment rate in the Nation, needs extra help. This supplemental does not provide it.

* I will be supporting both sections of the supplemental. It provides equipment and pay for our troops in harm's way and educational benefits for them when they return home. And the level of aid to the unemployed all across the country is a good start. However, I am disappointed we have not provided the much needed extra assistance to those who need it most. We must continue to work to help the chronically unemployed to get that additional safety net that will help support countless families in Michigan.

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