Unemployment Insurance

Floor Speech

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, at 2:30 this afternoon, the Senate will vote again on unemployment insurance. This bill is about jobs. This bill is about compassion. This bill would extend unemployment insurance for people who have lost their jobs.

This bill is about jobs because unemployment insurance goes to people who spend it immediately. That would increase economic demand, and that would help support our fragile economic recovery. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that additional unemployment benefits would have one of the largest effects on economic output and employment per dollar spent compared with any other policy. A fancy term is the ``multiplier effect.'' Dollars spent on unemployment benefits have a much greater effect on the economy, a bigger bang for the buck than almost any other dollar expended by the Federal Government. It stimulates the economy. Unemployment benefits stimulate the economy, and clearly it helps the people who have lost their jobs. Of the 11 policies CBO analyzed, the Congressional Budget Office ranked increasing aid to the unemployed first. It is No. 1. CBO says it will create the most jobs per dollar of budgetary cost.

As I mentioned, this vote is really about compassion. As of this week, more than 2.5 million out-of-work Americans have stopped receiving unemployment insurance benefits because Congress has failed to enact this bill. That is more than 2.5 million people who are not getting a paycheck to pay the bills. That is more than 2.5 million Americans who are not getting any help from unemployment insurance to tide them over. These 2.5 million Americans are trying to get work. But there are still five people looking for work for every job opening--five looking for every job available. They need to get help until they can find that job.

A woman from Helena, MT--the town I was born in--called my office and told us that unemployment benefits are keeping her family afloat. She was laid off when she was 8 months pregnant. She wants the Senate to know she has worked since she was a teenager. She wants to work. And she will work again.

For these 2.5 million Americans, this bill is about the roof over their heads. For these 2.5 million Americans, this bill is about keeping the electricity on. For these 2.5 million Americans, this bill is about food on the table. It is that simple. It is that important.

A Montana father with three small children was laid off after 18 years of service because the company could no longer pay his wages. Now he has no income. But he continues to look for work. His home is going into foreclosure. Unemployment insurance has been his only income. It is what puts food on the table for his family.

This is America. When there is an emergency, we in America do not leave people behind. Let's not leave the unemployed behind. We have stripped this measure down to the bare essentials. We simply must pass this bill. This afternoon, I urge my colleagues to vote for cloture and move this important bill.

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