Date: 1982-12-09
Speaker: WILLIAM J. COYNE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. for thousands of western Pennsylvanians. unemployment stretches for weeks on end. Fewer places of employment combined with more people seeking work means that many are still jobless as they reach the end of their allotted unemployment compenstion. Representative FORD. the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation. recognizes the seriousness of this situation. He has introduced a measure. H.R. 7327. which would provide an additional 5 weeks of unemployment benefits to most Pennsylvanians who exhaust their current benefits. I was pleased to be able to testify yesterday before Chairman FORDS subcommittee in favor of this much needed legislation. He is to be commended for an important initiative in the area of joblessness. While others in this city see unemployment compensation as a source of tax revenue. he correctly views it as necessary assistance to those who now bear the brunt of the recession. At the Offige of Management and Budget. those who have been forced off their jobs are perceived as a convenient source of revenue. The unemployed are seen as a politically weak segment of the population whose Interests need not be considered. and whose unemployment benefits should therefore he taxed. In western Pennsylvania. this segment of the population which some would totally disregard now comprises a large portion of the population. In the fourcounty Pittsburgh area. unemployment is 14.1 percent. The overwhelming majority of people now on unemployment assistance are not there because they want to be there. They need no impetus such as increased taxes to leave the unemployment rolls. An available job at decent pay is all the Incentive they need. The economic policies of this administration. policies which are tied to a reliance on high interest rates. make this incentive a remote possibility. High interest rates and inaction at the national and international level have contributed to one of the most shocking statistics of a great Industrial powersteelmaking plants operating at roughly a third of capacity. Many of the workers who operate these plants are operating at zero capacity. their ability to contribute to our economy hampered by the mistaken economic policies of this administration. These workers should not be punished for economic decisions they did not make. But while unemployment is now higher than at any time since 1941. the jobless are receiving less in benefits than at any time in the past decade. Consider the case in Pennsylvania. In September 1976. unemployment in my state stood at 7 percent. with an insured unemployment rate of 5.02 percent. The 358.000 unemployed Pennsylvanians were then entitled to 65 weeks of unemployment. These benefits were available. I hasten to add. under a Republican administration. Six years later. with an unemployment rate of 10.9 percent and an Insured unemployment rate of 6.48 percent. 601.000 Pennsylvanians were unemployednearly twice the number unemployed in 1976. Despite the severity of longterm unemployment in an industrial State. the maximum number of weeks of unemployment compensation is 49. Pennsylvania is among the more fortunate States. It still qualifies for extended benefits under the crazyquilt triggering mechanism enacted by Congress as part of the reconciliation tax bill of 1981. Thanks to the calculations of the numbercrunchers at the Office of Management and Budget. less than half the States now qualify for the 13 weeks extended benefit. It is my understanding that the State of Louisiana. for example. is not entitled to the extended benefits. It has double the number of Jobless it had a year ago. H.R. 7327 does not address all of these problems. That Is a task that should be high on the agenda of the new Congress when it convenes in January. This measure deals with a pressing. very human problemcarrying those nearing the end of their benefits through the holidays. and. in some cases. through the depths of winter. I strongly support Chairman FORDS bill. It would extend the temporary Federal supplemental compensation (FSC) program enacted by Congress this year by 5 weeks for jobless workers who first received PSC benefits on or before December 1. 1982. In the State of Pennsylvania. this would mean a period of compensation of 54 weeks. a period more reflective of actual economic conditions. For those who first receive FSC benefits after December 1. total benefits could last up to 52 weeks. This bill would not extend the FSC program beyond its expiration date of March 31. 1983. It would increase the cost of the program by $650 million. This Congress has a responsibility to Insure that the victims of this recession are not forced to bear the total cost. The personal loss of a jobless workerthe destruction of selfesteem. the fear of the future. the possibility of economic catastrophe as the result of home mortgage foreclosurealready equals a crisis as serious as most of us will face in our lives. We should not add to that plight by failing to extend unemployment benefits as the winter months approach. I urge prompt action on H.R. 7327. 1 look forward to a comprehensive review of our unemployment system. I am confident that review will result in a removal from the law of those provisions which seem at odds with actual economic conditions in severely depressed States.e