Ranking Member Doggett's Opening Statement on Improving the Unemployment Insurance System
His full remarks as prepared follow below:
"Extending a hand toAmericans who have lost their job through no fault of their own and who are outsearching for new opportunities is the right thing to do for our economy andfor millions of our fellow Americans. Unemployment benefits helped, in asignificant way, to avoid a very bad recession from becoming a catastrophicdepression by helping folks put food on the table, a roof over their families'heads, and provide clothes for their children to go to school.
"Overall, our economy ismaking some progress, as evidenced by the nearly 3.5 million jobs that havebeen created over the last two years. But even with this improvement,there is still considerable work to do: we still have roughly 5 million fewerjobs than when the recession started in December 2007, before thisadministration took office.
"Though there has been somegood news in Texas, according to the Center for Public Policy Priorities inEast Austin, we still have a shortfall in Texas of almost three-quarters of amillion jobs, accounting for the state's job losses and boomingpopulation. In San Antonio, for example, almost 40,000 workers arereceiving unemployment benefits and more than half of those have beenunemployed for at least six months. In Travis County, almost 25,000unemployed workers are claiming benefits.
"Last week, the San AntonioExpress News held a job fair that attracted 1,400 people, including Amanda, a46-year-old trained medical assistant, who has been searching for a job for sixmonths without success.
"It is vital that we maintainthe unemployment insurance lifeline for families who want to work but have notyet been able to find a job. I am therefore glad that a number of ourRepublican colleagues – after dragging their feet and creating an unnecessarycrisis for too many families – finally joined Democrats in maintainingemergency unemployment benefits through the end of 2012.
"I am also pleased that thefinal legislation included a number of reforms designed to promoteemployment. Last year, I worked with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon onlegislation to encourage more states to promote entrepreneurship among theunemployed by allowing under certain conditions those who are unemployed to usetheir resources to help establish small businesses. I think this is a programwith much potential for some of the unemployed and I look forward to hearingfrom the Secretary and others about how that potential can be achieved.
"The final legislation alsocontained provisions to avert layoffs through work sharing programs, in whichindividuals receive partial unemployment checks when their work hours arecut. Additionally, the measure included a recommendation from the ObamaAdministration to require all recipients of emergency UI to undertakereemployment assessments. And there are some demonstration projects thatwill be conducted by the Secretary of Labor to explore other alternatives whichwe can discuss this morning.
"As we review how states areresponding to the various changes in Federal law related to unemploymentbenefits, we need to acknowledge that a much bigger challenge is looming formany states. Thirty states now owe the federal government $41 billion in UIloans and several other state unemployment programs, including my home State ofTexas, have borrowed from the private market.
"The magnitude of therecession had an obvious impact in driving up insolvency, but truthfully, anumber of these States failed to make preparations for even a mild recession,much less a more severe one like that we experienced. A system that was more forwardfunded would have averted many of these outcomes. I look forward tosuggestions about how we can create an unemployment insurance system that doesa better job of saving for the future and protecting those who need it in aneconomic downturn."
# # #