Ways and Means Leaders Praise Senate Passage of Unemployment Insurance Extension

November 20, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA) praised the Senate for agreeing to legislation passed by the House (H.R. 6867) to extend unemployment insurance benefits to Americans suffering in these difficult economic times.

“With this extension we are taking the right step, a necessary step, toward rebuilding our economy,” said Chairman Rangel.  “Extending this basic assistance to help unemployed workers pay their mortgages, feed their families, and heat their homes is a down payment on broader economic recovery legislation that our economy desperately needs.  I welcome the news that the President intends to sign this critical legislation, which will help hundreds of thousands of workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.”

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Statement: Senator Hillary Clinton As Secretary of State

November 21, 2008
“There is no American more capable or better able to serve our nation as Secretary of State than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I enthusiastically applaud the news that she has accepted an invitation to serve from President-elect Barack Obama.

“In my role as co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, as well as my international trade and development efforts in Africa and elsewhere in the world, I know firsthand that the world has been waiting, and hoping, for a new era in U.S. foreign policy.  For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa can expect Mrs. Clinton to be a staunch supporter of expanded trade through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has been one of my top international priorities and one that President Bill Clinton first enacted into law.

“Today, in one bold stroke, President-elect Obama has said in word and deed that America intends to reclaim its role as world leader.  Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton gives immediate credibility to the new Administration and this news will be welcomed and strongly supported around the world.”

Rep. McDermott Joins Team of Volunteers to Serve 250 Seafood Meals to the Homeless and Unemployed
October 22, 2008

Rep. Jim McDermott joined a team of volunteers on Wednesday, October 22 in Seattle to serve 250 seafood meals to the homeless and unemployed as part of the At-Sea Processor Association’s Community Catch program.  APA’s member companies are all based in western Washington and annually donate enough fish for one million seafood meals to food assistance programs. 

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Fort Lawton Provision Signed Into Law
October 14, 2008

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) announced that the President signed the Department of Defense Authorization bill today that included a provision to award back-pay plus interest to the Fort Lawton soldiers absolved of any wrong doing for a World War II era crime they did not commit.  The provision is Sec 592 in S. 3001.

“Justice has prevailed, but more than that, the dignity, courage and honor lived by Samuel Snow, Booker Townsell and other African American soldiers throughout a half century of racial injustice will write a new chapter in American history that children will learn about for generations to come,” Rep. McDermott said.  “While no amount of money can ever repay the lost opportunities endured by these African American soldiers, they would be the first to say it was never about money, it was always about equal protection under the law for everyone in America.”

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Rep. McDermott’s Foster Care Legislation Signed Into Law
October 08, 2008

The President signed Rep. Jim McDermott’s Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, H.R. 6893, into law late yesterday.  The legislation marks the most significant reform of America’s child welfare system in more than a decade. 

“We are going to be able to take better care of America’s most vulnerable children because of the major reforms contained in this legislation,” Rep. McDermott said.  “And, we are clearly telling these children that they are not alone in America, and they can grow up in a loving, caring home with a chance at the American Dream.” 

Across America, there are nearly 500,000 children in foster care on any given day, with approximately 130,000 waiting to be adopted.

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Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Grade McDermott Veterans Voting Record an A
October 07, 2008

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America released its Veterans Report Card 2008 today, in which it graded every Member of Congress on how they voted on veterans issues in the 110^th Congress.  In the House of Representatives, the organization looked at 13 votes and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) received a near-perfect grade of A in his report card from the IAVA. 

The group disagreed with one of the congressman’s votes, but McDermott explained that the veterans issue was part of a much larger defense bill that he was forced to vote against, and that he would have strongly supported a stand alone version of the veterans’ issue.

The IAVA said “it prepared the report to show who really supports our troops and veterans.”

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Rep. McDermott Votes No on Senate Bailout Bill
October 03, 2008

Rep. McDermott entered the following statement into the Record to explain his no vote on the Senate bailout bill.

The Senate dug an enormous ditch alongside Main Street, and they want the House to drive into it.  That is exactly where the President has driven this economy over seven years.

On Thursday morning, the morning after the Senate passed a very different bailout bill, two things happened. The filings for new unemployment benefits hit a seven year high, and a number of telephones melted in my congressional office as my constituents called in with their opinions.

By the thousands, the people of the 7^th Congressional District are absolutely enraged by what the Senate did. Senate Republicans blocked Senate Democrats from legislation that delivers for Main Street. Senate Republicans demanded the pot be sweetened.  But they left out the millions of Americans who can’t find a job and are running out of benefits.  And they left out a lot of other Americans too.

With economic times getting tougher by the day, Senate Republicans have no problem telling the American people to go it alone. Last week, the House passed on a strong bi-partisan vote a stimulus package to help Main Street America.  But Senate Republicans said no; they were willing to help Wall Street but look the other way for Main Street. 

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House Passes Extension of Unemployment Benefits
October 03, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives today voted in support of legislation to extend unemployment benefits to millions of workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and cannot find new work.  The bill, H.R. 6867, was introduced in September by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott (D-WA).  Chairman McDermott’s subcommittee has jurisdiction over unemployment insurance and Chairman Rangel has made helping the American people weather the current economic downturn a top priority of the Ways and Means Committee.  H.R. 6867 now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

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Rep. McDermott Introduces American Worker Security Resolution
September 18, 2008

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA), chairman of the House Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee, took the first step today toward introducing comprehensive legislation to modernize many of the social safety net programs that have remained largely unchanged since they were written over 50 years ago. 

McDermott’s resolution in the House of Representatives identifies many specific economic and social programs that need to be modernized: “Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to re-weave America’s social safety net to responds to the needs of the 21st century economy and labor market.”

Read a copy of the bill

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