WASHINGTON, D.C. — The AFL-CIO is profoundly disappointed that the House leadership has failed to offer an economic stimulus proposal that would provide comprehensive relief to laid-off workers and fiscally-strapped states.
The limited bill, which the House approved today, does nothing to help laid-off workers pay the crushing costs of health care and leaves out hundreds of thousands of laid-off workers who do not qualify for benefits in many states despite paying into the unemployment system. The House bill also drains states’ already-depleted coffers without providing any offsetting aid to avoid making state budget problems even worse.
Clearly the 13-week extension of unemployment benefits is a vital step forward. But extending benefits during a recession should be a bi-partisan reflex, not an ordeal forced by the intransigence of the Republican leadership in the House, who repeatedly insisted on more tax breaks for big corporations. And extending benefits should not mean that laid-off workers do not deserve relief from the restrictive provisions that deny extended benefits to many workers who should qualify for them.
This is an era marked by corporate bailouts and off-the-charts corporate malfeasance. Unfortunately, it is also an era marked by the rhetoric of compassion, but not the action to solve the problems in our economy. Today’s extension of benefits is a start, but it should not be confused with a finish. Our states and our people are still struggling and Congress must continue down this road to address the crisis in health care and state budgets all around the country.