Floor Statements

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about legislation that I introduced with Senator Franken today that is essential to the academic success of millions of vulnerable children and youth.

The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act responds to the growing crisis of homelessness in our Nation. The legislation will help homeless children and youth thrive in school, despite the constant moves, trauma, and loss associated with homelessness.

This legislation is needed now more than ever. The economic downturn and foreclosure crisis have had a significant impact on homelessness. Public schools reported a 17-percent increase in the number of homeless students in 2007. In Washington State, the number of homeless students has increased dramatically. For example, the number of homeless students enrolled in Whatcom County schools increased by 66 percent over the past 2 years; in Evergreen Public Schools, there has been a 56-percent increase over the past 2 years. This Fall, many schools face a veritable tidal wave of homelessness. Over one million children and youth are now homeless in our Nation.

The recession has contributed to homelessness among two groups of students: children who are homeless with their families, and youth who are homeless on their own. This reality was brought starkly to light in the recent New York Times series about runaway and homeless youth. The series found a 40-percent increase in the number of homeless youth living on their own last year, more than double the number in 2003. It concluded that ``Foreclosures, layoffs, rising food and fuel prices and inadequate supplies of low-cost housing have stretched families to the extreme, and those pressures have trickled down to teenagers and preteens.''

School offers homeless children and youth structure, normalcy, support, and hope--it is a place where they can obtain the skills that they will need to avoid poverty and homelessness as adults. Yet these students face great educational challenges. High mobility, precarious living conditions, and severe poverty combine to create major barriers to school enrollment and regular attendance. Many homeless children and youth lack basic supplies and a reasonable environment where they can do homework. As a result of their circumstances, homeless students often perform below their peers in math and reading and are more likely to be held back.

We must do more to assist these students so they do not continue to be left behind. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009 would do just that. The bill amends the McKinney- Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. It makes a strong law even stronger by reinforcing and expanding the law's key provisions: school stability, enrollment, and support for academic achievement.

This legislation will enhance the right of homeless children to stay in the same school, so that children who have lost their homes do not also lose their schools. It will assist schools in meeting the challenges of transporting homeless students by increasing the authorized funding level and allowing other Federal funds for educating low-income students to be used for homeless transportation. When staying in the same school is not possible, or not in a child's best interest, the legislation will help the student make a seamless transition to a new school.

This bill will help students like Kyle, a 4th-grade student in Spokane. Due to the instability of homelessness, Kyle moved around with his family most of his life. In fact, he moved eleven times. There were large gaps where he had not gone to school at all, because of his family's frequent moves. Yet although Kyle moved eleven times, the homeless education program in Spokane was able to keep him stable in one school. Because he had the opportunity to attend one school consistently, the school district was able to determine that his academic and behavioral struggles were caused by more than just homelessness: a special education evaluation revealed that he was nearly deaf in both ears. He now has hearing aids in both ears and told his teacher:

``I can hear now, and I am being good. I want to be a crossing guard.''

Yet many more children like Kyle are not receiving the assistance they need due to lack of funding. In fact, only 9 percent of school districts are able to receive funding through the McKinney-Vento program currently. This legislation would increase the authorized funding level, so that more school districts can participate in the homeless education program and reach more children and youth experiencing homelessness.

One of the most successful features of the McKinney-Vento program is the requirement for every school district to designate a liaison for homeless children and youth. Liaisons identify homeless students, ensure their enrollment and attendance, and connect them to community resources. Liaisons are the backbone of this program, the unsung heroes who have become a lifeline for children and youth in crisis. Yet most liaisons do not have the capacity to carry out their required duties; they wear many hats and struggle to meet the growing demands of this population. As a result, too many homeless children and youth are falling through the cracks and missing out on school. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act will strengthen the critical position of homeless liaison by ensuring that liaisons have the time, resources, and training to fulfill their mandated duties.

The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act also recognizes the unique needs of certain groups of homeless children: preschool-aged homeless children, and unaccompanied homeless youth.

Young children who are homeless have higher rates of developmental delays and other problems that set them back as they start out life, yet they face numerous barriers to participating in early childhood programs. They miss out on services that can mitigate the harmful effect of homelessness on their development. This legislation will increase homeless children's participation in preschool programs by requiring public preschool programs to identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment, and to develop the capacity to serve all identified homeless children.

Unaccompanied homeless youth struggle to go to school without the basic necessities of life or a parent to guide them. We must assist unaccompanied homeless youth to overcome the unique educational challenges related to being without a home and without a parent or guardian. This legislation will help ensure that unaccompanied homeless youth have the supports necessary to stay in school, graduate with their peers, and move on to a brighter future.

The history of litigation under the McKinney-Vento Act makes clear that we must do a better job helping educators learn about homelessness and support them in implementing the law. To this end, the legislation provides funding for technical assistance and training, and requires participation in professional development activities.

I am pleased to be joined by Senator Franken in cosponsoring this legislation to assist homeless students, and I am honored to cosponsor Senator Franken's legislation, the Fostering Success in Education Act, to assist students who are in foster care. These bills recognize the similarities, and the differences, between students who are homeless and those who are in foster care. It is our intention to work with our Senate colleagues to ensure that children and youth who are currently served through the McKinney-Vento Act under the category of ``awaiting foster care placement'' will be transitioned to the Fostering Success in Education program, so that their unique needs may be best met.

As we look forward to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we must recognize that children who do not know where they will sleep at night, or where their next meal will come from, face far greater challenges than simply remembering to do their homework. We must acknowledge that children who bounce between schools with each change of residence have little hope of taking advantage of even the best school programs. The most qualified teacher, or the most exceptional math or reading program, will not benefit children who are not enrolled in school, not attending regularly, and not assisted to overcome the barriers caused by homelessness. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act builds upon the proven successes of the McKinney-Vento Act's Education of Homeless Children and Youth program, while addressing remaining challenges. It is critical legislation that will help ensure that the homeless children of today do not become the homeless adults of tomorrow.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about legislation that I introduced with Senator Franken today that is essential to the academic success of millions of vulnerable children and youth.

The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act responds to the growing crisis of homelessness in our Nation. The legislation will help homeless children and youth thrive in school, despite the constant moves, trauma, and loss associated with homelessness.

This legislation is needed now more than ever. The economic downturn and foreclosure crisis have had a significant impact on homelessness. Public schools reported a 17-percent increase in the number of homeless students in 2007. In Washington State, the number of homeless students has increased dramatically. For example, the number of homeless students enrolled in Whatcom County schools increased by 66 percent over the past 2 years; in Evergreen Public Schools, there has been a 56-percent increase over the past 2 years. This Fall, many schools face a veritable tidal wave of homelessness. Over one million children and youth are now homeless in our Nation.

The recession has contributed to homelessness among two groups of students: children who are homeless with their families, and youth who are homeless on their own. This reality was brought starkly to light in the recent New York Times series about runaway and homeless youth. The series found a 40-percent increase in the number of homeless youth living on their own last year, more than double the number in 2003. It concluded that ``Foreclosures, layoffs, rising food and fuel prices and inadequate supplies of low-cost housing have stretched families to the extreme, and those pressures have trickled down to teenagers and preteens.''

School offers homeless children and youth structure, normalcy, support, and hope--it is a place where they can obtain the skills that they will need to avoid poverty and homelessness as adults. Yet these students face great educational challenges. High mobility, precarious living conditions, and severe poverty combine to create major barriers to school enrollment and regular attendance. Many homeless children and youth lack basic supplies and a reasonable environment where they can do homework. As a result of their circumstances, homeless students often perform below their peers in math and reading and are more likely to be held back.

We must do more to assist these students so they do not continue to be left behind. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009 would do just that. The bill amends the McKinney- Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. It makes a strong law even stronger by reinforcing and expanding the law's key provisions: school stability, enrollment, and support for academic achievement.

This legislation will enhance the right of homeless children to stay in the same school, so that children who have lost their homes do not also lose their schools. It will assist schools in meeting the challenges of transporting homeless students by increasing the authorized funding level and allowing other Federal funds for educating low-income students to be used for homeless transportation. When staying in the same school is not possible, or not in a child's best interest, the legislation will help the student make a seamless transition to a new school.

This bill will help students like Kyle, a 4th-grade student in Spokane. Due to the instability of homelessness, Kyle moved around with his family most of his life. In fact, he moved eleven times. There were large gaps where he had not gone to school at all, because of his family's frequent moves. Yet although Kyle moved eleven times, the homeless education program in Spokane was able to keep him stable in one school. Because he had the opportunity to attend one school consistently, the school district was able to determine that his academic and behavioral struggles were caused by more than just homelessness: a special education evaluation revealed that he was nearly deaf in both ears. He now has hearing aids in both ears and told his teacher:

``I can hear now, and I am being good. I want to be a crossing guard.''

Yet many more children like Kyle are not receiving the assistance they need due to lack of funding. In fact, only 9 percent of school districts are able to receive funding through the McKinney-Vento program currently. This legislation would increase the authorized funding level, so that more school districts can participate in the homeless education program and reach more children and youth experiencing homelessness.

One of the most successful features of the McKinney-Vento program is the requirement for every school district to designate a liaison for homeless children and youth. Liaisons identify homeless students, ensure their enrollment and attendance, and connect them to community resources. Liaisons are the backbone of this program, the unsung heroes who have become a lifeline for children and youth in crisis. Yet most liaisons do not have the capacity to carry out their required duties; they wear many hats and struggle to meet the growing demands of this population. As a result, too many homeless children and youth are falling through the cracks and missing out on school. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act will strengthen the critical position of homeless liaison by ensuring that liaisons have the time, resources, and training to fulfill their mandated duties.

The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act also recognizes the unique needs of certain groups of homeless children: preschool-aged homeless children, and unaccompanied homeless youth.

Young children who are homeless have higher rates of developmental delays and other problems that set them back as they start out life, yet they face numerous barriers to participating in early childhood programs. They miss out on services that can mitigate the harmful effect of homelessness on their development. This legislation will increase homeless children's participation in preschool programs by requiring public preschool programs to identify and prioritize homeless children for enrollment, and to develop the capacity to serve all identified homeless children.

Unaccompanied homeless youth struggle to go to school without the basic necessities of life or a parent to guide them. We must assist unaccompanied homeless youth to overcome the unique educational challenges related to being without a home and without a parent or guardian. This legislation will help ensure that unaccompanied homeless youth have the supports necessary to stay in school, graduate with their peers, and move on to a brighter future.

The history of litigation under the McKinney-Vento Act makes clear that we must do a better job helping educators learn about homelessness and support them in implementing the law. To this end, the legislation provides funding for technical assistance and training, and requires participation in professional development activities.

I am pleased to be joined by Senator Franken in cosponsoring this legislation to assist homeless students, and I am honored to cosponsor Senator Franken's legislation, the Fostering Success in Education Act, to assist students who are in foster care. These bills recognize the similarities, and the differences, between students who are homeless and those who are in foster care. It is our intention to work with our Senate colleagues to ensure that children and youth who are currently served through the McKinney-Vento Act under the category of ``awaiting foster care placement'' will be transitioned to the Fostering Success in Education program, so that their unique needs may be best met.

As we look forward to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, we must recognize that children who do not know where they will sleep at night, or where their next meal will come from, face far greater challenges than simply remembering to do their homework. We must acknowledge that children who bounce between schools with each change of residence have little hope of taking advantage of even the best school programs. The most qualified teacher, or the most exceptional math or reading program, will not benefit children who are not enrolled in school, not attending regularly, and not assisted to overcome the barriers caused by homelessness. The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act builds upon the proven successes of the McKinney-Vento Act's Education of Homeless Children and Youth program, while addressing remaining challenges. It is critical legislation that will help ensure that the homeless children of today do not become the homeless adults of tomorrow.

I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, November 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each, and that Senator Rockefeller be recognized to speak; that following his remarks, there be a period of morning business for 2 hours, with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees, with the majority controlling the first hour and the Republicans controlling the next hour; that following morning business, the Senate proceed to executive session and resume consideration of the nomination of David Hamilton to be U.S. circuit judge for the Seventh Circuit. Finally, I ask that the postcloture time count during any adjournment, recess, or period of morning business.

Mr. President, tomorrow the Senate will resume the postcloture debate time on the Hamilton nomination. If all time is used, the Senate would vote on confirmation of the nomination around 11 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it adjourn under the previous order.

Mr. President, this week, thousands of families across our country are stopping to honor the

memory of those who have served for us because of Veterans Day tomorrow and to thank them for all they have done to protect and defend our country. It is a time when many American families are watching what is unfolding at Fort Hood this week. It is a time in my State where today we are having a memorial service at Fort Lewis honoring seven soldiers who lost their lives a few days ago in Afghanistan. Our hearts and condolences go out to those families who have suffered the ultimate loss, especially at this time when everyone is recognizing the tremendous sacrifice so many people have given.

As a Senator from a State with a very large military presence and communities that are heavily populated with the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our country, I was particularly saddened by the senseless violence that ripped through our Nation's largest active-duty base last Thursday. As anyone who has ever spent time on a U.S. military base knows well, those are some of our most safe and compassionate communities in the entire country. They are places where a young family plants roots and raises a child and establishes a life for themselves. They are a place where military spouses form bonds that they carry with them throughout their deployments. They are a place where neighbors always lend a hand to those in need. I have seen that firsthand at places such as Fort Lewis Army Base in Tacoma and Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane. I know the pain of the loss of those 13 public servants extends to everyone at Fort Hood and to the U.S. military community as a whole.

I wish to make special mention today of Michael Grant Cahill who came from Spokane, WA. He was the lone civilian killed in that attack. He was a physician's assistant who worked in rural clinics and veterans hospitals, places where our veterans desperately need care and we desperately need workers. At the time of his death, he was only 4 years from retirement. In an interview with the Spokesman-Review newspaper a day after her father was killed, Cahill's daughter Keely told the paper that her dad was ``a wonderful person, that he loved his job and loved working with people and helping them with their physical needs.''

My thoughts and prayers are with Keely and the family members of all those who died or were wounded and the U.S. military families who are still reeling from this tragedy.

To the families who have lost soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan recently, especially those having military services today in my home State of Washington at Fort Lewis as well as many others, I want them to know that we know we are their voice and we need to stand up for them. As we all know, Veterans Day tomorrow is a day we celebrate and honor the great sacrifices all veterans have made. It is because of their sacrifice that we can safely enjoy the freedoms our country offers. It is because of their unmatched commitment that America can remain a beacon for democracy and freedom throughout the world.

Growing up I saw firsthand the many ways military service can affect both veterans and their families. My father served in World War II. He was among the first soldiers to land in Okinawa. He came home as a disabled veteran and was awarded the Purple Heart. Like many soldiers of my dad's generation, he didn't talk about his experiences during the war. In fact, we only learned about what he did and his heroism when he passed away, and we found his journals and read them. I think that experience offers a larger lesson about veterans in general. They are very reluctant to call attention to their service, and they are reluctant to ask for help. That is why we have to publicly recognize their sacrifices and contributions. It is up to all of us to make sure they get the recognition they have earned and, by the way, not only on Veterans Day. Our veterans held up their end of the deal. We have to hold up ours.

Veterans Day must not only be a day of remembrance, it must also be a day of reflection. It is a chance for all of us to reflect on our own responsibilities to our Nation's veterans. It is a chance to look at what we can do to make sure we are keeping the promise we made to our men and women when they signed up to serve. It is a chance to take stock of where care and benefits have fallen short, where new needs are emerging, and how we can make it easier for veterans to get the care and benefits they deserve.

It is appropriate that on the eve of this very important day, Veterans Day, we are working to pass a bill that takes a hard look at many of the challenges facing veterans and their families. It is a bill that is the product of collaboration with veterans, their families, caregivers, and scores of veterans service organizations.

As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am aware we have a lot of work to do for the men and women who serve our country. Not only must we continually strive to keep up our commitment to veterans from all wars, but we also have to respond to the new and different issues facing veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, wars that are being fought under conditions that are very different from those of the past. That is precisely what the caregiver and veterans omnibus health bill seeks to do.

One of the changes we have seen in our veterans population recently is the growing number of women veterans who are seeking care at the VA. Today more women are serving in the military than ever before. Over the next 5 years, the amount of women seeking care at the VA is expected to double. Not only are women answering the call to serve at unprecedented levels, they are also often serving in a very different capacity. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we have seen wars that don't have traditional front lines. All of our servicemembers, including women, find themselves on the front lines. Whether it is working at a checkpoint or helping to search and clear neighborhoods or supporting supply convoys, women servicemembers face many of the same risks from IEDs and ambushes as their male counterparts. But while the nature of their service has changed in these conflicts, the VA has been very slow to change the nature of the care they provide when these women return home.

Today at the VA there is an insufficient number of doctors and staff with specific training and experience in women's health issues. Even the VA's own internal studies have shown that women veterans are underserved. That is why we included in the veterans health bill a bill I have introduced and worked on that will enable the VA to better understand and ultimately treat the unique needs of female veterans. The bill authorizes a number of new programs and studies, including a comprehensive look at the barriers women currently face when they try to get care at the VA. It includes a study of women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan to assess how those conflicts affected their health. It includes a requirement that the VA implement a program to train and educate and certify VA mental health professionals to care for women with sexual trauma and a pilot program that provides childcare to women veterans who seek mental health care services at the VA because, as we know, women will choose to take care of their kids before they take care of themselves. I believe we need to provide that childcare so those women get the care they need.

This bill I am talking about is the result of many discussions with women veterans on the unique and very personal problems they face when they return home from war. Oftentimes, when I hold veterans meetings in my State, the men who are there speak up and talk to me about some of the barriers they face, and it is not until the meeting closes and everybody is going out the door that the women come up to me and speak silently and as quietly as they can in my ear about the barriers they face. Some of these women have told me they did not even view themselves as a veteran and therefore did not even think of seeking care at the VA. Oftentimes, they have told me they lack privacy at their local VA or they felt intimidated when they walked in the doors. They have told me about being forced into a caregiving role that prevented them from even asking for care because they had to struggle to find a babysitter in order to keep an appointment. They should not have to speak quietly into my ear at the end of a meeting. They have served our country honorably. We should move this women veterans health bill so they get the care they support.

To me and to the bipartisan group of Senators who cosponsored the women veterans bill, these barriers to care they face are unacceptable. So as we now have more women transitioning back home and stepping back into their careers and their lives as mothers and wives, this VA has to be there for them. So this bill in the omnibus bill in front of us will help the VA to modernize to meet those needs.

Another way this bill meets the changing needs of our veterans is in the area of assisting caregivers in the home.

As we have seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, medical advances have helped save the lives of many of our servicemembers who in previous conflicts would have perished from the severity of their wounds. But these medical miracles mean that many of those who have been catastrophically wounded now need round-the-clock care when they come home.

In many of our rural areas, where access to health care services is very limited, the burden of providing that care often--and most often-- falls on the family of that severely injured veteran. For those family members who are providing care to their loved ones, it now becomes a full-time job for them. They often, I have been told, have to quit their current jobs--forfeiting not only their source of income but also their own health care insurance at the same time. It is a sacrifice that is far too great, especially for families who have already sacrificed so much.

So this underlying omnibus bill we are trying to bring forward provides caregivers with health care and counseling and support and, importantly, a stipend so they can take care of their loved ones when they come home.

This bill also takes steps to provide dental insurance to veterans and survivors and their dependents and improves mental health care services and eases the transition from Active Duty to civilian life. It expands outreach and technology so we can provide better care for veterans in our rural areas. And it initiates three programs to address homelessness among veterans, which is especially troubling during these economic times.

This is a bill that is supported by numerous veterans service organizations and the VA. It is supported by many leading medical groups. It was passed in our Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee with broad bipartisan support after hearings with health care experts and VA officials and veterans and, importantly, their families.

Like other omnibus veterans health care bills before it--bills that have often been passed on this floor with overwhelming support--it puts veterans before politics. It is a bipartisan bill designed to move swiftly so its programs can be implemented swiftly. It is a bipartisan bill that is designed to make sure our veterans do not become political pawns. Yet here we are today facing delays.

The fact that this bill is now being held hostage by ideology is both a disservice to our veterans and a troubling precedent for our future efforts to meet their needs. Providing for our veterans used to be an area where political affiliation fell by the wayside. But today, because of an effort to score political points on issues that are far removed from the struggles of families who are delivering care to their loved ones with injuries or women veterans who are returning home to an unprepared VA or the mounting toll of this economy on homeless veterans, we are faced with delay on the floor. For our Nation's veterans, it is a delay they cannot afford. Our aging veterans and the brave men and women who are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan need our help now. And how we treat them at this critical time will send a signal to a generation of young people who might now be sitting at home considering whether they want to go into the military.

It is imperative that we keep our promise to our veterans--the same promise Abraham Lincoln made to America's veterans 140 years ago--``to care for the veteran who has borne the battle, his widow and his orphan.''

Our veterans have waited long enough for many of the improvements in this bill. We should not ask them to wait any longer. So I urge our colleague to withdraw his objection to consideration of this bill and to let us move it quickly through the Senate so the families and the servicemembers who are waiting for its passage--whether it is a family taking care of a veteran who has been seriously injured or a woman veteran or anyone who has served our country--can know we stand behind them when they serve our country.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Yes, the Senator is correct. This bill is narrowly constructed to address the unique situation faced by flight attendants and pilots in the calculation of the hours they need to qualify for leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA. I understand that the FMLA eligibility calculation does not include paid vacation, sick, medical or personal leave unless otherwise agreed to in a collective bargaining agreements or the employers manual. This bill reflects the intent of the FMLA's original sponsors to provide an alternative way to include flight crews that addresses the airline industry's unique time- keeping methods. I am proud that the Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act fixes a technical problem that has left many full-time flight crew members ineligible for family medical leave for many years due to the unique way their work hours are calculated.

Correct, this bill narrowly deals with flight crews only. The bill is a technical correction for language that was intended to be in the original Family Medical Leave Act, but for some reason or another was left out. Flight crews were specifically mentioned in the FMLA's legislative history. Thus, I believe that the correction is clearly appropriate for flight crews. If other groups were to attempt an adjustment in their FMLA eligibility requirements, I suggest that their situation and the ramifications of such an adjustment would need to be examined on a case by case basis.

The Senator is correct. The original authors stated that they did not intend to exclude flight crews in unique circumstances from the bill's protection simply because of the airline industry's ``unusual time keeping methods.'' They believed that these workers-- flight attendants and pilots--were entitled to family and medical leave under the law based upon the situation they specifically faced.

This legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support in the House of Representatives. I am pleased to present it in the Senate with bipartisan support. This language was drafted through a process that included representatives from large and small airline carriers and carrier associations, and organized labor. I need to recognize the work that Senator Clinton did on this bill when she introduced its precursor in the 110th Congress.

I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Amendment No. 2669

Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. President, last week families and businesses across our country finally got some good news. We found out that initial estimates show that our GDP grew at a 3.5-percent rate last quarter and that the Recovery Act created or saved over 1 million jobs across the country, including over 30,000 in my home State of Washington, making us third in the country for job creation.

Those are hopeful signs. But I know many families and many businesses and communities still need help. We have a long way to go before we have fully recovered from the worst economic condition since the Great Depression.

I came out on the floor and spoke twice last week about the urgent need to pass an extension of unemployment insurance that would help over 18,000 people in my home State and millions of Americans across the country. I told the stories about five individuals who had lost their jobs and whose families are now in desperate need of support that the extension would give them to help them stay on their feet--families who right now, as we sit out here and debate this bill, wait for hours and hours for us to get to a final vote, even though we know we have the votes, families who are sitting at the kitchen tables across this country having a very agonizing debate about how to make next month's rent or how to get next week's groceries if their unemployment benefits run out.

Those families do not understand why some of our colleagues are delaying and obstructing our efforts to offer this small measure of financial stability to those families who need it most. These families have been coming to me with their stories, and I am committed to fighting to make sure they have every opportunity to get back on their feet. That is why I am here today to urge my colleagues to support and pass the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009.

I am very proud to be a cosponsor of this bill because it will give our families and businesses in Washington State and across the country the support they need today. This bill will be a lifeline to millions of families, and it will provide tax relief to help our businesses create and save jobs. And it will help extend and expand the homeowners tax credit to continue a badly needed boost to help stabilizing the housing market.

This legislation will help families who need it most by providing every single unemployed worker who has exhausted his or her benefits an additional 14 weeks of support, regardless of what State they live in, and it would extend unemployment to laid-off workers in States that have been hardest hit by the job losses, including Washington State, by 6 weeks.

Last week I told some of the stories that are pouring into my office from unemployed workers. These are workers who are not asking for a handout. They just need a small measure of support as they work to get back on their feet. These stories have continued to come in this week, and I wish to share a couple excerpts from letters people sent me urging me to do everything I can to make sure this bill finally passes.

Bill and Patricia Profitt from Littlerock, WA, e-mailed me saying:

Please act quickly to pass another extension

of unemployment benefits. My wife and I are in danger of

losing our house and have run out of unemployment. Please

help us.

Donna Dettling from Olympia, WA, said:

My extended benefits will run out in 7 weeks. I am a single

mother with three boys and I have been trying for months to

get work but have been unsuccessful. If the Senate does not

come to an agreement soon, we may end up homeless. Can you

please do what you can to push this forward?

Then there is Barbara Headrick from Monroe, WA. She wrote to me and said:

Dear Patty, I am desperate for the Senate to pass the

emergency unemployment benefits legislation. I cannot find a

job, have no income, and am in danger of losing my house as

well as my utilities. Please, please, please urge all the

Senators to pass this emergency legislation as soon as

possible.

Those are just three quick e-mails from thousands of letters I have received from across my home State of Washington. We owe it to these workers, to their families, and to millions more like them to pass this legislation and not continue to delay it so that they can get the support they need.

These men and women who are writing me and stopping me when I am home did not expect to have to ask for help. They had jobs. They felt secure. But now they are spending their days desperately looking for work that is not available. They are worrying about what will happen to them, and they are worrying about their families when their savings are exhausted and their credit cards are maxed out and the bank will not wait any longer for a mortgage payment.

We cannot continue to go hour after hour after hour delaying this when our working families are pushed to the brink by a financial crisis that they did not create but for which they are paying. We need to pass this legislation.

By the way, this bill is going to do a lot more for our families, businesses, and communities. It will expand and extend the successful home buyers tax credit that will allow our families the opportunity to move into homes and make sure that our weakened housing market continues on the road to recovery.

This is a program that has already helped many families purchase their first homes. This bill will extend the $8,000 credit to first- time homebuyers through the end of April 2010 and expand the program providing a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current home for 5 years or more.

These programs will not only help families move into new homes; they will also increase liquidity and provide a shot in the arm to housing markets that still need a lot of support.

I have heard from real estate agents, from homebuilders, from families from every corner of Washington State, and they all tell me they have to have this extension. I received letters from families telling me they want to buy a new home but they cannot close in time to get this credit and they would not be able to afford a new home without it.

Thousands of homebuilders, construction workers, and real estate agents have contacted me telling me how successful this credit has been and how an extension and expansion would create jobs and give the housing market another strong push forward.

This bill will also provide a critical boost to businesses in Washington State by extending their ability to carry back losses they suffered in 2008 or 2009. That is a tax provision that will provide badly needed capital to help our companies avoid layoffs, expand their operations, and create jobs.

We have heard a lot today about this concept of too big to fail. Well, in this time of nationwide economic uncertainty, I believe the millions of families and Main Street businesses that are on the brink are certainly too important to fail, and they deserve every bit of support we can give them to allow them to get back on their feet. So the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 will help bring these families, businesses, and communities back from the precipice.

I urge our colleagues to support and pass this critical legislation. It is surprising to me that we have to wait hour after hour after hour after hour, when we know the votes are there, simply because somehow delaying this bill is some kind of win for whoever is delaying it. It is not a win for Washington families who have to stay awake one more night worrying about how they are going to buy food or pay their mortgages or keep their families intact.

I urge my colleagues to stop the delaying tactics and allow this bill to come to a vote.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. President, last week I spoke on the floor about the urgent need to pass an extension of unemployment insurance that would help 18,000 people from the State of Washington and millions of Americans across the country. I came here and told the story of three Washington State families who have lost their jobs in the most difficult time since the Great Depression and who desperately need the support that an extension would give them to get back on their feet. Unfortunately, despite the hard work of many of my colleagues on the floor, this small measure of financial stability has been delayed to families across the country who need it the most, families who right now, as we debate about whether we will get to the bill, are having a much more agonizing debate at home about how to make next month's rent or even next week's grocery budget if their unemployment runs out.

For these families, this bill will provide real help. It provides every single unemployed worker who has exhausted his or her benefits, regardless of the State they live in, an additional 14 weeks of support. It extends unemployment to laid off workers in States hardest hit by job losses, including my home State of Washington, by 6 weeks. It makes critical changes to help more families, like making sure an additional $25 per week in benefits that Congress included in the recovery act doesn't count against someone who is seeking food stamps.

Washington State workers and Americans across the country have been hurt through no fault of their own. They are out there every day looking for work. While we are seeing some progress on the economic front, for many of them the job market is still discouraging. Unemployment is now at 9.8 percent. That is a 26-year high. Since this recession began back in December of 2007, over 7.4 million people have lost their jobs, and the 15 million Americans who are trying to find jobs are searching for an average of 6.5 months before something comes through for them.

While those statistics clearly point out the need for this legislation, the stories behind those statistics are even more of a call to action. Last week, I told of the stories that have been pouring into my office from people who are unemployed in my home State of Washington. These are workers who are not asking for a handout; they are just asking for a small measure of support as they work very hard to try to get back on their feet. Today, I wish to share a couple more stories from the hundreds that have come into my office over the past few days urging me to do everything I can to get this bill passed.

I heard from a woman named Loretta Messick. She lives in Auburn, WA. She sent me a message just yesterday. She told me she has been working for more than 25 years, but she was recently laid off for the first time ever in her career. She said she is desperately looking for work, but she is not sure she is going to be able to find any before her benefits run out. She is working with her bank, she told me, to try and adjust her mortgage payments, but she told me that if unemployment runs out, she fears her family is very much in danger of losing their home.

Loretta is not alone. I also have a story from a woman named Patricia Obrist. She lives in Renton, WA. Patricia and her husband both had jobs in the construction industry--good jobs, she told me--but they were laid off when business slowed down for the companies they worked for. She told me she has only 8 weeks of unemployment benefits left and then, she said, she is going to have to start dropping expenses such as health care, the car payment, their mortgage. She asked me for just a little more time for her to find a job and to give her a chance to avoid losing everything she has worked so hard for.

For Loretta, for Patricia, for their families, and millions more like them, these questions haunt them every day: What will we do if support runs out? Where will we go when our savings are exhausted, when the credit card payments can no longer be met? What do we do when the bank will not wait any longer for a mortgage payment? Whom do we turn to?

In a time of national crisis, it is our job to make sure we are answering those questions. We can, by helping to provide a bridge to financial stability. We cannot sit on the sidelines. Doing so would only compound the problems we already face. More families will be pushed into bankruptcy, more homes will be foreclosed upon, more people will lose their health care, and less progress will then be made on the road to financial recovery for all of us. We can't sit by as working families are pushed to the brink by a financial crisis they did not create but they are paying for.

I hope all our colleagues listen to the voices of their constituents and join us in passing an unemployment extension that makes sure the struggles of America's laid-off workers are not ignored. This bill could not come at a more crucial time.

I wish to point out that these benefits would mean very little if we don't quickly get them into the hands of the people who need it most. The people of our State workforce agencies, people such as the Employment Security Department in my home State, are critical to making that happen. Despite the increasing demand, they have been working tirelessly to serve unemployed claimants, and I know this time will not be any different. So I wish to take a second to applaud them for their efforts to make sure these funds are distributed as quickly as possible to eligible claimants.

I appreciate all those who have been working hard to bring the unemployment extension bill to the floor of the Senate. I urge us to act now. We should not block this with any other efforts,

even though many of them are important. Our families are struggling. We cannot afford to see anybody else lose their health care or their home or their car or their financial stability. Let's pass this unemployment extension and then move on to continuing the other important work that comes before the Senate.

I thank the Chair. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

I move to lay that motion on the table.

The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.

Mr. President, I thank my colleagues who have come before the Senate on this critical issue, our ability to extend unemployment insurance, and to ask our Republican colleagues not to block our efforts and to allow us to bring up this bill and do it quickly to help the families who are suffering in every one of our States.

This week we have an important opportunity and a need to address a real ``kitchen table'' issue for families all across this country. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to pass an extension of unemployment insurance and, in doing so, to provide a measure of financial stability to millions of Americans who have been laid off in the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to provide peace of mind to families who are left without a job and nowhere else to turn and are so concerned about their future, families who, right now, as we debate our ability to bring this bill to the floor of the Senate, are having a much more agonizing debate about how to make next month's rent or even next week's grocery budget if their unemployment runs out.

For these families, this bill Senator Baucus has worked so hard on to bring to the floor helps them out. What this bill does is extend the unemployment to laid-off workers in States that have been hardest hit by job losses by 6 weeks, and it provides every single unemployed worker who has exhausted his or her benefits, regardless of the State in which they live, an additional 14 weeks of support. It makes some critical changes to help our families. It makes clear that the additional $25 per week in benefits that Congress included in the Recovery Act does not count against someone who is seeking food stamps.

This bill could not come at a more critical time. This month, we have seen banner headlines in newspapers all across the country that make a very stark point about the tough climate our laid-off workers face today. In my home State of Washington, unemployment has now risen to 9.3 percent. That number alone does not illustrate the need to provide immediate relief. Even with the robust recovery program that has saved and created jobs throughout my State, our workers are feeling the very sharp effects of this recession.

Since this recession began in December of 2007, there have been over 145,000 jobs lost in my State. That means 1 in 20 jobs in Washington State has been lost. These unemployed workers are searching for an average of 6\1/2\ months before they find a job. While those statistics clearly point out the need for this legislation, the stories behind these statistics provide even more of a call to action--stories of single mothers who are scanning the classifieds every morning and then having to search through coupons each night to afford to feed their family dinner; stories of skilled workers, with many years of education and the debt that comes with that, facing stacks of unpaid bills; stories such as those that over the past few weeks, as unemployment benefits have become exhausted for millions of workers, have poured into my Senate offices, stories such as the one of Wane Ryan of Bonney Lake, WA, who shared it with me.

Mr. Ryan says he is a carpenter, with 23 years of experience, who has been looking for work for more than a year. In his letter, Mr. Ryan tells of recently selling all his personal belongings, relying on food banks, and being on the verge of financial ruin, through no fault of his own. He wrote me to ask for another emergency unemployment extension just to keep his head above water.

There is Kristina Cruz, from Seattle, who received her last unemployment check just a few weeks ago. Kristina told me she has been unemployed now for 20 months, after spending 10 years in human resources. She talks of going above and beyond in her job search, a skill she picked up as her career. But still, she said, interviews have been few and far between. She told me she is stressed out and panicked. She says she is not interested in living off the government long term, but in the midst of this economic crisis, she believes we need to pass this extension.

There is the story of Angela Slot and her family from Washougal, WA. Angela's husband designs kitchens and has been out of work since last May. He has returned to school, put out over 1,500 applications in different fields in different States and for every different type of job. Yet today he remains without work.

The Slot family has taken out loans, used all their savings and unemployment payments just to stay in their home and provide for their three children. Without this extension, the Slot family calculates they will not have their home by the end of this year.

For these families and millions more like them, the question that haunts them every single day is what will we do if this support runs out? Where will we go when our savings are exhausted, when the credit card can no longer make ends meet, when the bank will not wait for a mortgage payment any longer? To whom do we turn?

In a time of national crisis, it is our job to make sure we are answering those questions. We can do that by providing a bridge to financial stability for families today. By the end of this year, my State projects that nearly 18,000 people will be in need of these benefits just to keep them afloat.

I, personally, know how important it is to have the government in your corner during financial times. When I was young, my dad had to stop working. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. That left my mom at home to support and raise seven kids, as she also took care of my dad. It was a very difficult time for my family. We made a lot of sacrifices to get by. But you know what. Our country was there for us. Through food stamps, VA benefits for my dad, student loans, my family made it through those tough times, and I am here today. That is why I believe strongly that we need to be there now for the millions of Americans who are struggling today.

We cannot sit on the sidelines. Doing so would only compound the problems we already face--more families pushed into bankruptcy, more families who will have foreclosures happen to them, more people will lose their health care, and less progress will be made on this important road to financial recovery. We cannot sit by as working families are pushed to the brink by a financial crisis they did not create but for which they are still paying.

Angela Slot ended her letter to me by saying she felt families such as hers, families who are just scraping by, are ``falling off the radar.'' This unemployment extension bill is our opportunity to prove to her and many others that is not the case. We have not forgotten them. We know they are out there.

I urge our colleagues to listen to the voices of their constituents. I ask our Republican colleagues not to block this effort, not to say no to these families, not to turn a blind eye but to join us in passing an unemployment extension that makes sure America's laid-off workers are not ignored.

I yield the floor.