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Jobs and the Economy  - Related Press Releases and Speeches It has been apparent that there has been a precipitous slowdown in the American economy over the last year. The steps taken by Congress to provide financial backing to the nation’s banks, rising unemployment and the recent calls from the auto industry for government assistance are just the most evident problems of this slowdown. There are numerous explanations for the slowdown, and even more suggestions about how to solve the situation. Our problems fundamentally stem from declining income for working-class families. Our economy needs a jumpstart. American families need a lifeline. State and local governments need the federal government to partner with them to manage this crisis. Americans are not only losing their jobs at alarming rates, and the deteriorating job situation is making it harder and harder for people to find work. As a result, millions of unemployed workers have exhausted their state-funded unemployment benefits. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support, which has jurisdiction over the unemployment insurance (UI) program, I ensured that the Congress responded to this crisis in quick order. Earlier this year I introduced HR 6867, legislation which provides seven weeks of extended federally-financed unemployment benefits to workers who have exhausted their normal benefits in every state, and thirteen additional weeks of benefits to workers in states with high unemployment rates. The Senate recently considered and passed the stand-alone version of HR 6867 that passed the House in October, and the bill was signed into law by the President on November 21st. This bill is critical for the estimated 3.8 million Americans that would have exhausted their benefits in the next year without an extension.
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