Hare: Latest Jobs Report Shows Urgent Need to Extend Unemployment Benefits, Fix Broken Trade Policies

Press Release

Hare: Latest Jobs Report Shows Urgent Need to Extend Unemployment Benefits, Fix Broken Trade Policies

Congressman Phil Hare, a member of the House Trade Working Group, released the following statement in response to this morning's employment situation report which shows the United States lost 20,000 jobs in April, the fourth consecutive month of rising unemployment.

"Today's dismal jobs report is the latest evidence that a recession is in full swing.

"Nearly 80 percent of Americans are now worried that the economy could slip into a depression lasting several years.

"Since last year, unemployment has grown in every single metropolitan area of Illinois.

"President Bush's solution to our struggling economy is more tax cuts for the wealthy and unfair trade agreements with Colombia and South Korea. It is these policies that got us into the current mess.

"I am pleased that millions of Americans are receiving rebate checks this week as part of the bipartisan economic stimulus package passed by Congress. But much more needs to be done for working families.

"We must extend unemployment benefits, increase food stamps, and take common sense steps to reign in rising gas prices.

"Most of all, we must abandon the job-killing trade policies of the past and pursue a fair trade model that protects American workers. Part of this reform includes overhauling the broken Trade Adjustment Assistance program—a safety net for displaced workers.

"With 260,000 jobs already lost this year, the time to act is now."

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