Chairman Miller Blasts House Republicans for Killing Extended Unemployment Benefits

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after House Republicans killed legislation to provide up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in every state to workers exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits.

“To the Republican members of Congress who live in a Washington bubble, it might seem like everything is fine with the U.S. economy right now. But to American workers, we’re in a recession. Over 300,000 American workers have lost their jobs since the start of the year, and there are 8.5 million workers who want a job but don’t have one. Making matters worse, workers and their families must cope with rising energy and food costs and the fallout from the housing crisis.

“For laid-off workers, the paychecks stop coming, but someone still has to put gas in the car to drive to school and church and run errands. Paycheck or no paycheck, someone still has to buy groceries, and someone still has to pay the mortgage. House Republicans apparently don’t care about any of that. They apparently don’t believe that workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own deserve some help making ends meet while they look for new employment. And they apparently don’t understand that helping workers also helps the economy by injecting demand into it.

“With the unemployment rate rising quickly, there are many American families who need this assistance. Democrats in Congress will not stop pushing until workers get the help they need in these difficult times. It is the right thing to do for workers and it’s the smart thing to do for the economy.”

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