Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008

Floor Speech

JOB CREATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - September 26, 2008)

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Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of a second economic stimulus package. This package comes at a time when the number of unemployed continues to rise, gas and fuel prices are continuing to fluctuate, and our financial markets are in crisis.

For many months now, Congress has witnessed our economy continue on its economic downturn. I was happy to join with my colleagues to support rebate checks for 117 million American families in the first stimulus package that Congress passed at the beginning of this year. However, I believe now, as I did then, that a one-time check does little for families who have been struggling paycheck to paycheck for months. Bolder action is needed, and I think Congress is taking an important step today to help our working families and to bolster our economy.

In my home state of Michigan we have been struggling with the highest unemployment rate in the Nation, now at 8.9 percent. Since 2000 wages have fallen in Michigan at a rate of 0.5 percent per year, healthcare premiums have risen over 42 percent, and we have lost thousands of jobs. Despite all of this tragedy, Michigan's economic plight has not received much attention. I am here today to warn my colleagues that without today's stimulus package, many other States may be joining Michigan's struggles.

Today's proposal includes a number of measures that my colleagues in the Michigan delegation have been urging our House and Senate leadership to consider.

First it includes language from my colleague Congressman Jim McDermott's legislation H.R. 6867, which extends unemployment benefits by 7 weeks in all States to a total of 20 weeks and will extend these benefits by an additional 13 weeks for States with high unemployment, like Michigan. I cosponsored this legislation because Michigan workers need these extra benefits now more than ever, and I know that this will provide them with he extra time they need to get back on their feet.

Second, this economic stimulus package provides $15 billion in relief to all States and territories through a temporary increase in Federal Medicaid funding. This money will ensure States can continue to provide healthcare to their low-income populations including children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly, without cutting important benefits. It will also help prepare Medicaid for the health services it may provide to the additional workers who lose their jobs, access to private health insurance, or both.

In Michigan we have witnessed firsthand how rising healthcare costs have hamstrung our manufacturers and employers. We know now that healthcare costs more than steel in a domestic automobile, and Starbucks spends more on healthcare than coffee beans. Further, as unemployment has increased, more and more families are relying on Medicaid to receive the healthcare they so desperately need. The injection of new Federal dollars through Medicaid has a measurable effect on State economies, including generating new jobs and wages. In fact, $1 million in additional Medicaid dollars creates $3.4 million in new business activity.

As an author of legislation with a similar one-time increase in FMAP, I know very well that an increase of this nature is one of the simplest, fastest, and best ways to provide stimulus to States and I applaud our leadership for including it in today's bill.

Third, this legislation includes a temporary increase in Food Stamp benefits. We know that millions of households rely on these benefits to purchase their groceries, however, when food prices have increased by 7.5 percent, Food Stamps do not stretch as far as they once did. Today's proposal will provide $2.6 billion toward increasing Food Stamp benefits, helping thousands of families put food in the pantry and dinner on the table.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for your leadership on this issue and for standing up to this administration once again. I know that putting together today's legislation was no easy task. However, our families desperately need the Federal Government to help provide them with relief and reassurance that we hear and understand their struggles. I am pleased that I will be able to return home to the 15th Congressional District and tell my constituents about the $25 billion in loans to auto makers the Michigan delegation was able to secure and a second economic stimulus package that Congress was hopefully able to pass and the President signed into law. I know that these actions will not go unnoticed, and as their Federal representative it is my duty to do whatever I can to help them through this tough time. I urge my colleagues to rise in support of today's package, a ``no'' vote on this legislation or a veto by the President's pen is no way to help our families in need.

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