Cummings Statement on New Unemployment Numbers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2009

Contact:
Jennifer Kohl
202.225.4289 or 202.225.4025
Trudy Perkins
410.685.9199 or 202.225.4641

Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), a member of the Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement in response to new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing the loss of an additional 467,000 jobs in June:

“Today’s job numbers underscore how critical a moment this is for the men and women of Main Street. While it is clear that the new economic policies implemented by President Obama and the Democratic-led Congress have slowed the rising unemployment rate, we know that it will take time for these new policies to fully take effect and reverse this trend. In the meantime, we must continue to do everything we can to help ease the pain of these hard times on American families.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the rising unemployment rate has led in part to the very sharp increase in defaults on prime mortgages. As men and women lose their jobs, they suddenly find themselves in desperate situations. Upon losing their main source of income, it is almost impossible for these individuals to modify their home loans, and if their homes are underwater, there is little hope to refinance or sell. These are responsible men and women who have followed all of the rules and done everything right, and we cannot allow them to fall through the cracks. I have proposed legislation, the Temporary Mortgage Assistance Act of 2009, which would provide short-term government loans to help people make their mortgage payments as they look for new work—all at no new cost to taxpayers.

“As we continue to roll out the President’s existing housing initiatives, I remain encouraged by the response of our nation’s banks as they step up to the plate to help restructure loans and find solutions to help salvage people’s dreams of homeownership. These banks must continue to staff up as quickly as possible to effectively and efficiently meet the rising demands of struggling families as they face foreclosure.

“We must also continue to enact sensible legislation to keep stimulating our economy as we move toward economic recovery. The Congress must act urgently to pass Chairman Oberstar’s highway bill, which would create or save 6 million jobs. We cannot afford to wait another day, let alone 18 months, to move forward on this critical bill. Failure to act will almost certainly result in crippling job losses, a deepening of the economic recession, and further deterioration of our nation’s highways and bridges—essentially offsetting many of the benefits of the increased transportation investment provided by the Recovery Act.

“I am confident that our nation will emerge from this economic crisis to see another day, but the question is what the landscape will look like. President Obama and the Congress have led the American people miles ahead, and today’s new job numbers are a stark reminder that we cannot stop now in creating the policies that will get us to the end of this road.”

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