WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Senators from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut urged the Bush Administration to approve a National Emergency Grant to provide much-needed assistance to workers in the New York City metropolitan region who have lost their jobs as a result of the worsening economic crisis. In a letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) and Joseph I. Lieberman (ID-CT) requested $48 million to help their states provide a coordinated response to aid the hundreds of thousands of workers already bearing the brunt of the deepening recession.
“It is imperative that our states have the resources to cope with this rising wave of unemployment and to help transition these individuals to new jobs,” the Senators wrote. “This grant will provide our states with the crucial resources they need to support the extraordinary number of workers in our region left jobless and at risk in the midst of this recession.”
The Tri-State region’s unemployment rate has already risen by 1.3 percent from April 2008 to September 2008 alone, a loss of more than 140,000 jobs. Analysts estimate that the tri-state region will lose an additional 160,000 private sector jobs by the end of 2008.
The text of the Senators’ letter follows.
The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
U.S. Secretary of Labor
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20210
Dear Madam Secretary:
We are writing to ask you to favorably consider the grant submitted by the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for a National Emergency Grant to provide much-needed assistance to workers losing their jobs as a result of the recent crises in the financial sector.
As you know, the tri-state region is at the very center of the financial crises of the last several months. The downturn is having a profound impact on workers in the region, and is spreading beyond the financial sector to workers in the food and restaurant industry, the retail trade, and hospitality industries, and those performing administrative and computer support functions. The region’s unemployment rate has already risen by 1.3 percent from April 2008 to September 2008 alone, a loss of more than 140,000 jobs. Analysts estimate that the tri-state region will lose an additional 160,000 private sector jobs by the end of 2008.
It is imperative that our states have the resources to cope with this rising wave of unemployment and to help transition these individuals to new jobs. That is why we ask you to swiftly approve the National Emergency Grant request submitted by the Governors of our three states. Our states are seeking $48 million to provide a coordinated response that is tailored to assist the hundreds of thousands of workers facing dislocation as a result of the crises. This grant will provide our states with the crucial resources they need to support the extraordinary number of workers in our region left jobless and at risk in the midst of this recession.
Our states are ready to take emergency action to address the considerable workforce challenges which lie ahead. They have proposed collaborative market analysis and forecasting projects, the creation of specialized service centers for white-collar professionals, and other initiatives to identify those sectors of the economy with job creation opportunities for high-wage, skilled workers and lower-skilled workers alike. They are prepared to implement strategies to aid companies in averting layoffs and to identify and assist small businesses in danger of closure. But in a time of budget shortfalls and declining revenues, they desperately need assistance to help those impacted most by the financial crisis.
We ask you to support this unified effort to assist and align displaced workers with the demands of the marketplace and get our states working again.
Sincerely,
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Charles E. Schumer
Frank Lautenberg
Robert Menendez
Christopher Dodd
Joseph Lieberman
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