Related Articles
Daschle
to Republicans: September 23, 2002
Also on Wednesday, the Presidents budget director predicted federal revenues were dropping faster than projected, which is likely to send the country further into debt. In the speech on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle used charts and graphs to draw attention to Bushs economic record, pointing to the loss of two million jobs, a doubling in the rate of long-term unemployment, a $4.5 trillion decline in the value of the stock markets and an "anemic" economic growth rate. August unemployment figures show more than eight million Americans are jobless. The AFL-CIO recently released a study showing that 429,343 unemployed workers ran out of regular unemployment benefits in July, up by 67.2 percent over the same period last year. One of Daschles top domestic priorities is to extend jobless compensation to those workers hardest hit by the economic downturn. Democrats are rounding up support for the legislation. Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) has become the first Republican to join Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) to co-sponsor a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits. It is also expected to provide an extra seven weeks of benefits to those in states with high unemployment: Alaska, California, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and West Virginia. Dashle also expressed support for another Kennedy-sponsored bill, to raise the hourly minimum wage $1.50 to $6.65.
|
Just
The Facts Folks! Register To VOTE! Election 2002 - The Issues... IBEW Journal 8/02 Campaign Finance Reform Alters Political Landscape... IBEW Journal 8/02 |
In
the midst of a widening public debate over Iraq, the top Democrat
in Congress called on President Bush on Wednesday to refocus attention
on critical issues at home such as joblessness, deficit spending
and weak economic conditions. 
