Senate Proceeding on Oct 22nd, 2009 :: 1:13:35 to 1:20:05
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1:13:31 to 1:13:56( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: the clean air protection act, without delay. pass it before the regulatory ticking time bomb goes off. thank you, mr. president. i yield the mr. bingaman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. bingaman: mr. president, i

1:13:35 to 1:20:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jeff Bingaman

1:13:57 to 1:14:18( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: rise to reid-baucus-shaheen amendment to h.r. 3548, which is the unemployment benefits extension bill. i very much regret thathe majority leader has had to file a cloture petion on to proceed to even consider that issue. to my mind, this should not be a partisan issue.

1:14:19 to 1:14:39( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: there ought to be agreement in this body that we to extend unemployment benefits given the circumstances we face. the job market in my home state of new mexico is dismal, and there is very little indication of improvement expected in the

1:14:40 to 1:15:01( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: near future. new mexico, our stpholally adjusted -- seasonally adjusted stphoeuplt rate is 7.5% in august of 2009, but that is up from 7% in july and up from 4.3% a year ago. so the trend is definitely disturbing. the decline in the number of

1:15:02 to 1:15:23( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: jobs is the worst the state has seen in more than 45 years, with the speed with which we have been losing jobs. the pain of unemployment is being felt across the country. more than five million americans have been unemployed for six months or more. two million of these workers face the end of their unemployment benefits before the

1:15:24 to 1:15:44( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: end of this year. they're up to 4 -- there are up to 4,000 new mexicans who will exhaust their unemployment benefits by december of 2009. the total number of unemployed and underemployed, including those who are working two or three part-time jobs to try to make ends meet and those who

1:15:45 to 1:16:05( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: have given up looking for work, approaches 17% of our workforce. these aren't just numbers, obviously; these are real people of not knowing how they're going to pay for the groceries they need that week or their mortgage payment or their rent payment.

1:16:06 to 1:16:26( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: the stimulus package -- stimulus funding that congress passed earlier this year has helped to slow job losses, and it has created some new jobs, especially in education and in government services more generally. in new mexico alone stimulus funding is expected to create

1:16:27 to 1:16:47( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: about 22,000 jobs this year. this has had a significantly positive impact on the unemployment picture, but it is still not enough to fully address the needs created by the economic situation we find ourselves in. nationwide, for every job opening there are six applicants.

1:16:48 to 1:17:09( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: i was struck by the article on the front page of "the new york times" this morning entitled "$13 an hour? $500 sign up a500 sign up and one wins the job." this was datelined burns harbor, indiana. "as soo as the job opening was

1:17:10 to 1:17:32( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: posted on the afternoon of friday, july 10, theda began. the trucking company needs an administrative asstant for its bust ling driver straining school here in indiana. responsibilities iluded data

1:17:33 to 1:17:53( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: entry, assemblg paperwork and making copies." it goes on to quote the head of corporate recruiterring. it says "when stacy ross, c.r. england's head of corporate recruiting arrived at her dervetion the company's salt lake city headquarters, the next monday, she found about 300

1:17:54 to 1:18:14( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: applications in the company's e-mail box. and the fax machine had spit out an inch and a half-thick stack of resumes before running out of paper." and the article goes on to point out that the estimate is that

1:18:15 to 1:18:36( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: there were 500 applications filed for this one job, a $13-an-hour job, before they took down the posting of the availability of the job. so we have a very serious problem that needs addressing. the exnsion of unemployment

1:18:37 to 1:18:57( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: benefits will not ease the worry of the unemployed. it will not eliminate the dread they have about the need to pay bills each month, but it will make things a little bit easier for some of those individuals. the extension will make it easier not just for the direct recipients but for the larger economy as well. economists tell us that for

1:18:58 to 1:19:20( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: every $1 in unemployment benefits, that the government provides, $2.15 is generated througho and these economic benefits are felt most immediately as benefit recipients use the funds almost immediately to meet their daily needs. the legislation that the

1:19:21 to 1:19:42( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: majority leader has filed -- the petion to proceed to -- takes a responsible afroach providing these additional fund. the extension is paid for with an 18-month extension of the federal unemployment tax which has traditionally been used both by repubcans and by democratic administrations for this very purpose.

1:19:43 to 1:20:03( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: the extension is a responsible well-thought-out response desire -- to the dire circumstances that many americans are find -- find themselves in today. as i said at the beginning, this should not be a partisan issue. unemployment is affecting everyone, regardless of their political party or their ideology.

1:20:04 to 1:20:06( Edit History Discussion )

Jeff Bingaman: i urge the senate to set aside