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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 420 Introduced in House (IH)]

110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 420

    Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to re-weave 
America's social safety net to respond to the needs of the 21st century 
                       economy and labor market.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 18, 2008

Mr. McDermott submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
    Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need to re-weave 
America's social safety net to respond to the needs of the 21st century 
                       economy and labor market.

Whereas the real median wage for American male workers was lower in 2007 than in 
        1973;
Whereas between 1947 and 1973 the typical American family's income doubled; 
        since 1973 the average family's income has only risen 20 percent;
Whereas wage stagnation over the past 3 decades coupled with rising costs and 
        declining access to affordable health care and retirement benefits has 
        strained the financial situations of millions of American workers;
Whereas the United States economy has shed more than 600,000 jobs in the first 8 
        months of 2008 and the national unemployment rate is over 6 percent;
Whereas the current unemployment insurance system only covers about 1 out of 
        every 3 American workers who lose their jobs;
Whereas the average weekly unemployment benefit in 2007 was just 34.8 percent of 
        the average weekly wage;
Whereas more than half of all American workers receive health insurance through 
        their employer, but only about 20 percent of low-wage workers do;
Whereas more Americans are losing access to employer-provided coverage and 
        premiums for employer-provided coverage are increasing faster than 
        wages;
Whereas the increasing cost of health care and the stagnation in wages has 
        resulted in 45 percent of adults reporting problems getting needed 
        health care because of costs;
Whereas almost 47 million Americans had no health insurance in 2007, an increase 
        of 7.2 million since 2000;
Whereas dependent care is a fact of life for many American workers as more than 
        \1/3\ of all workers currently have children under the age of 18 and a 
        comparable number of workers have had to provide care for an adult 
        family member;
Whereas the cost of child care has been increasing rapidly, the Child Care and 
        Development Block Grant only serves about 1 in 7 federally eligible 
        children, with wait-lists common in many States, and the Federal tax 
        credit for dependent care is unavailable to many low-income families;
Whereas fewer than half of private-sector workers are covered and eligible for 
        unpaid leave authorized by the Family Medical Leave Act;
Whereas only about half of American workers qualify for any paid sick leave, 
        including less than 40 percent of low-wage workers;
Whereas the absence of paid sick and family leave has forced Americans to make 
        untenable choices between needed income and jobs and the health and 
        safety of their families;
Whereas the share of American workers with a traditional, defined-benefit 
        pension plan is rapidly falling;
Whereas half of American households have no retirement savings;
Whereas defined contribution pension plans benefit higher income workers 
        substantially more than low- and middle-income workers;
Whereas research estimates that 40 percent of baby boomers, born between 1946 
        and 1964, will be unable to maintain their standard of living when they 
        retire and that 50 percent workers who were born between 1965 and 1972 
        will be unable to maintain their standard of living in retirement;
Whereas it is in the national interest to ensure that Americans can retire with 
        dignity and the means to sustain their pre-retirement standard of 
        living;
Whereas when he signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, President 
        Franklin Roosevelt said, ``We can never insure 100 percent of the 
        population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, 
        but we have tried to frame a law which gives some measure of protection 
        to the average citizen and his family against the loss of a job and 
        against poverty-ridden old age''; and
Whereas it is necessary to re-weave America's social safety net so it responds 
        to the needs of the 21st century American economy and labor market: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the Sense of Congress that--
            (1) stagnant wages, declining access to employer-sponsored 
        health care and pensions, and the rising cost of living all 
        contribute to greater financial insecurity for the average 
        American worker;
            (2) the Social Security Act provides the essential basic 
        social safety net for American workers and their families, and 
        it should be improved and expanded upon to meet the needs of 
        the 21st century American workforce; and
            (3) in addition to responding to the needs of American 
        workers and their families when they experience unemployment 
        and face hardship, the Federal government should pursue 
        enactment of policies that proactively enable workers to 
        improve their skills throughout their career to ensure these 
        workers, and the businesses that rely upon them, are as 
        globally competitive as possible.
                                 <all>
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