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HARMAN & DEMOCRATS FIGHT TO HELP LAID-OFF WORKERS

[en español]

Washington, March 12 - Rep. Jane Harman today expressed her support of Congressional action taken late last week to pass a workers' relief bill. "I am proud to join my colleagues in support of this legislation, which will give unemployed workers an additional 13 weeks of benefits," Rep. Harman said. The bill will also give tax breaks to help businesses recover from the recent economic downturn.

"For months now, Democrats have been trying to pass a bill to extend benefits for laid-off workers, and while Republicans have fought these efforts for so long, I am pleased that they have finally decided to join us," said Harman. "With worker benefits expiring this week for those laid off immediately following September 11th, it was particularly important that the Congress acted expeditiously to ensure that this added assistance was in place."

Congress passed the workers' relief legislation only after Republicans dropped their insistence that the bill contain additional tax cuts for businesses. "Republicans continue to push plans to give the wealthiest individuals and big corporations tax cuts instead of focusing on working men and women impacted by the economic downturn," continued Rep. Harman. "Even now, the Republican House leadership has expressed plans for another large package of tax cuts on top of those already passed."

"Latino workers have been particularly hard hit during the current recession. While the current overall unemployment rate stands at 5.5%, Hispanic unemployment has now climbed to 7%," added Harman.

Today, more than one in ten U.S. workers is Hispanic; four out of five Latino men, or about 80%, are in the workforce, and some forecasters predict that instead of falling, the community's unemployment rate will continue to climb this year to as high as 8% or 9%.

"The Latino community has been a vibrant economic force in recent years, and Democrats will continue to fight for all working families and support real solutions that help workers get back on their feet," concluded Harman.

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