Senate Democrats Want Committee Of The Whole To Consider UI Stimulus Funding
Vince Leibowitz | Mar 17, 2009 | Comments 0
Senate Democrats today sent a letter to Lt. Governor David Dewhurst requesting that the Senate convene as the Committee of the Whole again next week to take up the issue of accepting and spending federal stimulus dollars for unemployment insurance.
State Sen. Elliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso), speaking on behalf of Senate Democrats, noted that the Senate needed to take the action “in the absence of responsible leadership” from Governor Rick Perry:
“All across Texas, people tell us that jobs are their top concern. By October, an additional 300,000 Texans will be out of work. In the absence of responsible leadership from Rick Perry, we will work now to fund unemployment insurance to help Texans in tough times,” Shapleigh said.
In the letter, signed by every Democrat in the Senate, the Senators noted:
Despite certain scenarios and overconfident talk, the reality is this: Texas is in a recession. the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is now predicting that 300,000 jobs will be lost in 2009 and unemployment will soon reach eight percent. The Texas Workforce Commission recently announced that unemployment claims are up 120 percent over this time last year, and the unemployment fund could be $750 million below the floor by September.
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Filed Under: 81st Texas Legislature
