Any economic stimulus package must include continued health coverage and unemployment benefits for workers who have lost their jobs.  Unfortunately, this measure includes cosmetic changes from previous proposals, and relies on large, permanent multi-year tax cuts for business and higher-income taxpayers, while providing relatively few benefits for the unemployed.

More than 2 million Americans have already lost their jobs this year, with over 700,000 layoffs since September 11th.  Our national Unemployment Rate for November has jumped to 5.7%, the highest level in 6 years.  In Rhode Island, unemployment has risen to 4.1%.  Clearly, America’s workers need our help now.  

For this reason, I support the Democratic substitute that contains substantial unemployment benefits and health coverage for dislocated workers while stimulating the economy with temporary business and individual tax cuts.  Unlike the underlying bill, the substitute pays for itself by delaying the top income tax rate cut, which was approved earlier this year and benefits only the nation’s wealthiest Americans.   

I urge my colleagues to support the Democratic substitute and to reject this ineffective economic stimulus package, which fails to provide the relief and stimulus that America’s workers desperately need.