Congressional Record—Senate S11241
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October 11, 2004 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S11241 the growing presence of temps at the plant is eign nations are basically buying up The final point I want to make is holding back their wage gains, while lim- America. We know who has the whip in that unemployment benefits usually— iting their movement in the plant. Some em- hand when you control the resources. and it is a very important point be- ployees say they have been stuck working One morning we will wake up and for- cause I see many colleagues on the nights because any open day-shift positions are quickly filled by temps. eign countries will own America. If floor who have joined with the Senator ‘‘If you break down, they’ve got a new guy they control our economy, then they from Massachusetts and myself to try waiting at the door,’’ said Roberts, who with control our destiny. The American to extend unemployment insurance his wife, another Toyota worker, clears a economy and American destiny ought benefits, and the Senator from Wash- six-figure income. ‘‘You’re creating a tug of to be in Americans hands. ington was very much involved in that war. There’s no protection for either side.’’ Mr. SARBANES. Will the Senator effort and we welcome so strongly her In Georgetown, the divisions can show up yield on that last point? leadership in it—usually are for 26 in strange, some say demoralizing, ways. Mr. KENNEDY. I am glad to. weeks. When we hit an economic down- Toyota is famous for the ‘‘kaizen’’—contin- Mr. SARBANES. The fact of the mat- turn, we extend it because the job mar- uous improvement—checks that it pays to ter is, the tax cuts for the very ket doesn’t pick up quickly enough to workers who come up with suggestions that wealthy, which is the centerpiece of save money. Earlier this year, Hicks and get people back to work. We usually Chris helped devise a change that cut two the Bush economic plan, are being fi- extend it out to 39 weeks. The adminis- jobs from their small quadrant of the assem- nanced by borrowing overseas, pri- tration has resisted efforts to extend bly line. The change meant more work for marily from China and Japan. That is the payment period for unemployment everyone, but it was more efficient. Toyota what it comes down to. We do these ex- insurance. We now have a record num- rewarded the idea by sending out $500 checks cessive tax cuts, we run a deficit, and ber of long-term unemployed. to every member of the team, every full-time we have to finance the deficit. Where This is the record even before the member, that is. do they find the money to finance the Bush administration of the long-term The two temps who came up with the sug- deficit? They sell U.S. Government unemployed. It ran along here, and now gestion got nothing. Their group leader did paper overseas, primarily to Japan and feel bad. He gave each of them a $25 gift cer- it has shot up to almost 22 percent of tificate to the Toyota company store. China. So we are borrowing money those unemployed who have been long- Then a full-time worker slipped them both from overseas in order to finance these term unemployed. $50. tax cuts. Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, in this ‘‘You guys got us this money,’’ Chris re- It is bad enough to borrow internally, article, besides the administration called him saying. ‘‘Sorry I can’t give you from our own people, in order to do being against the increase in the min- more.’’ this. But to go overseas and do it, as imum wage, they are against unem- Mr. KENNEDY. The article does the Senator points out, and then give ployment compensation and against track one slice of the workforce: tem- them this claim on American produc- overtime. In this report in 1982, there porary workers. Since January 2002, tion on out into the future as far as one were 417,000 workers classified tem- the nation has added 369,000 temporary can see is absolutely irresponsible. porary. Today, there are 2.5 million. positions, about half of the private-sec- The Senator from Massachusetts This is about equal to the number of tor jobs created during that stretch. made a very important point. manufacturing jobs lost in the past This report says half of all the pri- The President and his associates are decade. vate sector jobs created under this Ad- busy out in the countryside trying to These are the statements that we ministration since January 2002 are put the spin on the jobs figures. The have about how good the economy is. fact is, the economy picked up 96,000 temporary positions. These are jobs Mr. SARBANES. The Senator is ab- jobs last month. That is not enough to without benefits. You talk about solutely right. We are confronting a keep pace with the growth in popu- health insurance or retirement? Those very serious economic situation for our lation. This is the first administration are virtually nonexistent. workers. There is real anxiety—indeed since Herbert Hoover not to produce a This is what is happening in this even fear—in working America about net gain of jobs in the course of the ad- country. It is amazing to me to hear what is going to happen to people in ministration. The Bush administration the President talk about how the econ- terms of their employment and how is down 800,000 jobs, a total of 1.6 mil- omy is growing and crow about the in- they support their families. But we are lion private sector jobs, and 2.7 million creased numbers of jobs that we had— not producing jobs fast enough to put manufacturing jobs. 96,000 this last month, which is not people back to work. Yet the adminis- The last time you have an adminis- tration won’t support extending pay- even enough to keep up with the tration which failed to have a net gain growth of the population. And then we ments for unemployment insurance. in jobs in the course of its 4 years was How are these people supposed to find a third of those jobs are Govern- 75 years ago in the administration of support their families? These are work- ment jobs, a third are temporary jobs, Herbert Hoover. This is a dismal job ing people. By definition, you cannot and the other third are not paying very performance record. Yet the President draw unemployment insurance benefits much. is going around the country telling unless you have a work record. You I want to also mention that, as dif- people we have turned the corner. The must have been working and have built ficult as this is, those are figures that trouble is every time you go around up a working record in order to qualify. point out what happens to real people the corner we are going in the wrong We are talking about working Ameri- in their lives. But whatever happens to direction. That is the problem with the cans. How do they support their fami- these individuals I have just mentioned President’s policies. He may have lies? pales in comparison to the kind of pain turned the corner, but the corner is The President talks about 95,000 jobs minorities and women are feeling; taking us in the wrong direction. as though it is some success. It is not women, whose real income has de- Second, as the Senator from Massa- a success. This is the only President in clined, and minorities—Hispanics, Afri- chusetts pointed out, if you factor into 75 years in that entire period of time can Americans—whose unemployment the unemployment rate the people who who has not had a net gain of jobs dur- has increased dramatically. have dropped out of seeking a job be- ing his administration. I see the Senator from Maryland on cause they are so discouraged by the Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the Senator. his feet now. I am interested in his re- economic conditions they encounter, I see my time has expired. I thank my action to that hearing and to those fig- and people are working part time for friend from Maryland for his excellent ures. economic reasons—namely, they want observations. Before I run out of time, I would also to work full time but they can’t find a The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- like him to address the subject of the full time job, so they are working part ator from Iowa is recognized for 10 foreign purchase of over half of the time—if you include that in the unem- minutes. U.S. debt. Nearly $2 trillion of the na- ployment figure as well, which is the f tional debt is now owned by foreign most comprehensive measure of unem- holders. Recent figures show China and ployment, the unemployment figure is CHRISTOPHER REEVE Japan owning $1.3 trillion in U.S. 9.4 percent, coming up to 10 percent un- Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, like mil- Treasuries. I am concerned these for- employed. lions of other Americans, I was VerDate Aug 04 2004 05:08 Oct 12, 2004 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00051 Fmt 4637 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11OC6.047 S11PT1 S11242 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE October 11, 2004 shocked and saddened to learn last ings it was determined that we did bryos we are taking the stem cells evening and to learn more this morn- have the authority to do stem cell re- from—a dot you can barely see on a ing of the death of Christopher Reeve.