**Testimony of Dana Stevens**

**Before the Committee on Education and Labor**

**United States House of Representatives**

**October 24, 2008**

Chairman Miller, Ranking Member McKeon, and members of the Committee,
thank you for inviting me to testify at this hearing today. My name is
Dana Stevens, and I am a resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey.
Since July 11^th^ , I have been unemployed and am struggling to find a
new job and make ends meet. My story is not unique -- I am like millions
of others who are struggling in the current economy. I am grateful for
the opportunity to share my story today on behalf of all the unemployed
workers out there who are ready, willing and eager to work, but just
cannot find a job.

I am 31 years old, and have been working continuously since I was 21
years old. Shortly after high school, I began working full time and
going to college on a part time basis, steadily pursuing my college
degree in general business administration.

In June of 2007, I began working for an insurance broker. I was
recruited to join that employer and was hired to fill a new position of
Benefits Administration Supervisor. I loved the job and felt very secure
and settled, until last March. I was notified that my department would
be outsourced in an effort to save \$80,000 in business costs, plus
salaries and additional money in benefits. This decision was also made
as part of a sale of my employer to a much larger insurance company. I
was initially told to remain positive and that my employer wanted to
find me another position within the organization. However, in May, I was
told that July 11^th^ would be my last day of work.

As soon as I learned that I would lose my job, I immediately began
looking for a new one. I followed every avenue I could. I posted my
resume on-line, networked extensively with the clients of my employer,
applied for job openings, and even worked with professional
head-hunters. My husband and I also began saving every penny we could to
be able to pay our mortgage and bills once my employment ended. We have
always lived within our means and paid our bills on time, but I knew
that the amount I receive in unemployment insurance benefits would not
be enough to cover our monthly mortgage payment.

Since I learned I would lose my job, I have literally applied for over
140 jobs, in addition to all of the other networking I have done. In
that time, I have had interviews with only seven companies. While I have
come close to getting a job, and have received compliments on what a
strong candidate I am, I am still unemployed. I am looking as broadly as
I can. I live in southern New Jersey so I am applying for jobs in
Wilmington, Delaware, as well as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the
entire region. I am not simply looking for human resources jobs, but for
anything I could do including office work and administrative jobs that
are a step backwards from the positions I previously held. I even am
willing to take a significant pay cut for the sake of working, but I
need a job that will pay me enough so that I can keep my house and avoid
becoming part of the working poor. I am even willing to do contract work
that offers no benefits, just for the sake of earning money to pay our
bills.

I thought I had a good chance of finding a job two weeks ago when a head
hunter called me about an open position. But then she found out the next
day that the position was put on hold until at least next February
because the employer could not afford to fill it right now. That is the
situation I am facing everywhere I look. There just are not a lot of
good jobs out there right now, and the ones that do exist have hundreds
of people applying for them. Everybody is willing to accept jobs for
which they are overqualified and take pay cuts, so the competition is
really tough.

Luckily my husband still has his job, but in order for us to make ends
meet, he has to work over-time. He's also going to school two nights a
week, for four hours each night, so he can better his employment
prospects for the future. While I am lucky that he has a job and is
working hard to support us, it upsets me that he is doing it alone. I am
a very independent person and I feel bad having my husband endure the
long hours and extra work. Even though he is working over-time, we have
used up almost all of our savings just to continue paying the mortgage.
We have just enough in savings to scrape by on our December payment.
After that, I don't know what we'll do if I can't find a job.

My husband and I are careful and responsible people. We own a home and
made sure to purchase a house we could afford in order to avoid risky
financing. We make educated decisions and work hard to earn what we
have. I've worked continuously for over ten years. I'm going to school
to get my degree, and I have never received government services before.
Now, I feel like the odds are against me because I have had to rely on
unemployment in order to help support our family.

My unemployment has had very real consequences that will take years to
correct. I had to transfer colleges, because the school of my choice was
just too expensive. Even at the local community college, I've had to pay
my tuition on a credit card. At times, I've even had to put the cost of
groceries on my credit card so we can pay our bills and still have food
to eat. I will pay high interest rates on that tuition and food as I pay
it off over several months, possibly years. In addition, my husband and
I were getting ready to start a family right before I lost my job. This
is something we both want very much. As disappointed as I am that we had
to postpone having children, I am also relieved that I did not get
pregnant before I lost my job. I'm sure my job opportunities would be
nominal, as very few employers would hire me knowing that I would have
to take maternity leave within months of starting a new job.

Beyond that, my self-esteem has taken a real hit. I've always been a
very confident person and feel that I present myself well. But, when you
apply for so many jobs and nothing comes through, you can't help but
think "what's wrong with me?" Imagine going into an interview and trying
to project self-confidence when you feel completely defeated. I'm
putting on a front every time I have an interview and I just hope that
potential employers cannot see through it. There are even times when I
apply for a position and know that I would be a great fit for the role
and I don't even get a response on my resume submission.

I really feel like I've done the right things in life. In spite of all
my efforts and being responsible, I cannot get ahead. It makes me
worried and frustrated, even angry at times. I hope that by being here
today, my story will be beneficial to others that are in my situation.
They need to know they're not alone, even though being unemployed is one
of the loneliest feelings in the world. I look at the rising
unemployment statistics to gain some perverse comfort in realizing I'm
not the only one out there struggling to find a job.

People like me are really hurting. We want to work. Believe me, the
amount we get for unemployment is no incentive to stay home. I hear the
President's spokesperson say that extending benefits again might create
an incentive for people like me to stay home longer and that's just
wrong. There is nothing fun about staying home when you can't find a
job. There is nothing enjoyable about being up at night worrying about
how you are going to make ends meet. Being unemployed hurts you and your
family financially, but emotionally and physically as well. For anyone
to suggest that receiving unemployment is like getting a free vacation
is insulting and degrading to the millions of people like myself who are
desperately trying to get back to work.

Congress can help people like me. In the short-term, you need to extend
unemployment benefits again because the economy is not getting any
better, jobs are continuing to disappear, and the winter is coming when
we need to money to pay our heat and other bills. But I also ask you to
come up with legislation that will help provide a financial recovery for
all people in this country, especially those who are struggling the
most. Use your influence to help create new jobs with good pay and good
benefits. Find ways to create incentives for companies to keep good jobs
in-house, rather than outsourcing them to cheaper vendors who undercut
the market for hard working men and women. You have been elected to
serve the people of the United States, and we've never needed you more.

Thank you again for the opportunity to tell my story and to represent
all the unemployed workers throughout this country who are struggling
just to survive in this current economy.