House Special Order on Extended Unemployment Benefits — Congressional Record, May 12, 2021
Summary
A page of the Congressional Record, House, dated May 12, 2021, at page H2261, carrying a Special Order hour on extended unemployment benefits hurting Main Street. Mr. Bost, joined by Mr. Johnson of Louisiana, Mrs. Walorski, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia and Ms. Mace, says small businesses cannot find workers because the Federal Government is disincentivizing work. Mr. Bost cites Belleville Boot Company in Illinois, a boot manufacturer founded in 1904, and says its workforce has dropped. Mr. Williams of Texas notes National Police Week and Mr. Gimenez says he cosponsored a police reform bill, and the page ends with a scripture reading.
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Cite this document
“House Special Order on Extended Unemployment Benefits — Congressional Record, May 12, 2021.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crec-crec-2021-05-12-crec-2021-05-12-pt1-pgh2261-e59d613545/
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May 12, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2261
communities some of the very safest in minded, as we always are as we sit on my wife and I. I know many small busi-
the Nation. In fact, the cities of Frisco, this floor of the people’s House, of the ness owners across America are strug-
McKinney, and Plano, all located in words that are inscribed right above gling to reopen and rebuild after
Collin County, were named three of the your head there, our Nation’s great COVID–19 shutdowns. They simply
top 10 safest cities in America. motto, In God We Trust. can’t find workers to fill the job open-
This is a true testament to how well We are a Nation under God, as we ings.
members of our community, families, know, and millions of Americans find Why? Because the Federal Govern-
neighbors, small business owners, non- daily inspiration in the Word of God. ment is disincentivizing people from
profits, and local officials collaborate On National Police Week, it is appro- working. Many people are making
with police departments to ensure priate to note that we find there a use- more money off unemployment insur-
Collin County remains one of the very ful reminder about the noble calling of ance than they would if they were back
best places in America to live, work, those who serve our communities so at work, and that is having a crippling
and raise a family. bravely. Indeed, it is a divine calling, impact on Main Streets across Amer-
Let this National Police Week serve and I think those who are calling for ica, including in my district.
as a reminder that, in times of disaster the defunding and the disrespect of our People in Washington need to hear
or crisis, police officers are the ones police need to remember that it was these stories. Southern Illinois is home
who run toward the danger. Our brave God himself who ordained that author- to Belleville Boot Company, a military
officers go above and beyond to protect ity. boot manufacturer founded in 1904. A
our communities, and I can never In the 13th chapter of the book of Ro- year ago, they employed nearly 240
thank them enough. mans, it is subtitled Submission to workers in Belleville. But after each
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Mr. Governing Authorities. I just want to round of stimulus checks, as good as
Speaker, I thank the gentleman from read that in closing tonight, Mr. they may be, they had fewer and fewer
Texas for those great words. Speaker. It begins in verse 1 of Chapter workers showing up. Now, their work-
I yield to the gentleman from Florida 13: force has dropped to 26 percent, and
(Mr. GIMENEZ), a very important voice Let everyone be subject to the governing they can’t find enough workers to fill
and someone who has been on the front authorities, for there is no authority except the openings.
lines of community service, a first re- that which God himself has established. The In Alton, the Kreative Kids Learning
sponder, a fire chief, which is my favor- authorities that exist have been established Center has helped educate local chil-
ite previous job of his, although he has by God. dren for 51 years. The owner, Keith,
Consequently, whoever rebels against the
been a mayor as well. authority is rebelling against what God has
says that they currently have 21 em-
Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, this instituted, and those who do so will bring ployees but are desperate for more. He
week, we honor our incredible law en- judgment on themselves. runs ads in the newspaper, online, and
forcement officers who work tirelessly For rulers hold no terror for those who do on social media, offering a good wage,
to keep our communities safe. At a mo- right, but for those who do wrong. Do you yet he received zero applications—zero.
ment when some Americans have lost want to be free from fear of the one in au- He has even had to turn children
confidence in our country’s institu- thority? Then do what is right and you will away because he is so short of staff.
tions, we must come together to forge be commended. In Carbondale, Illinois, Mary Lou’s
For the one in authority is God’s servant
a new path of unity and purpose by ad- for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid,
Grill has been a local staple since 1962,
dressing every injustice while acknowl- for rulers do not bear the sword for no rea- serving up the most famous biscuits
edging the positive actions of our po- son. They are God’s servants, agents of and gravy in town. On a telephone
lice officers. wrath to bring punishment on the wrong- town hall last night, Marilynn, the
This week, I cosponsored the JUS- doer. owner of Mary Lou’s, shared that her
TICE Act to provide needed police re- Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the food suppliers are unable to hire
form to help ensure positive, fair polic- authorities, not only because of possible pun- enough people to run their facilities.
ing. This legislation helps ensure law ishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the au-
That potentially means food shortages
enforcement agencies and officers are thorities are God’s servants who give their and skyrocketing prices for res-
kept safe. full time to governing. taurants and customers.
I know firsthand the importance of Give to everyone what you owe them: If Before COVID–19, the Broadway
body cameras, not only for account- you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then Grille in Sparta, Illinois, had more ap-
ability, but also for the safety of every revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, plicants than they had positions to fill.
law enforcement officer. As mayor of then honor. But now, Justin, the owner, says that
Miami-Dade County, I was one of the Mr. Speaker, I conclude tonight with some former employees have told him
first in the country to implement a that admonition, that we give honor they will not seek a job as long as they
program putting body cameras on our where honor is due. That is what Na- are getting unemployment benefits.
police officers. This legislation will tional Police Week is about. He is so short-staffed that he doesn’t
help replicate what we did in Miami- Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance have enough people to answer the
Dade County across the country by of my time. phone most nights. If he can’t find
providing $500 million for State and f workers soon, he isn’t sure what he will
local law enforcement agencies to do.
EXTENDED UNEMPLOYMENT BEN-
equip officers with body cameras. This is not just a southern Illinois
EFITS ARE HURTING MAIN
Police officers deserve to know we issue. It touches every community
STREET
have their backs. Their commitment to across this country. That is why I have
their communities, their willingness to The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. invited several of my colleagues to
put their lives on the line to keep our AUCHINCLOSS). Under the Speaker’s an- highlight how their districts have been
children and grandchildren safe, must nounced policy of January 4, 2021, the impacted.
be commended and not attacked. It is Chair recognizes the gentleman from I will start, first off, by yielding to
time to step up and give our police offi- Illinois (Mr. BOST) for 30 minutes. the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs.
cers the support they deserve. GENERAL LEAVE WALORSKI), ranking member of the
Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. I thank Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unani- Subcommittee on Worker and Family
the gentleman for that voice of author- mous consent that Members have 5 leg- Support. She has many stories I am
ity on the issue. islative days to revise and extend their sure she can tell.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been honored to remarks. Mrs. WALORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I
be joined on the floor by so many col- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there thank my colleague for hosting this
leagues from around the country to- objection to the request of the gen- critical Special Order to discuss the
night to honor our law enforcement of- tleman from Illinois? ongoing impact of enhanced unemploy-
ficers this National Police Week. There was no objection. ment benefits on Main Street busi-
I was sitting here as I was listening Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I am a small nesses, the American workforce, and
to the speeches tonight, and I was re- business man. We own a small business, our economic recovery.
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H2262 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 12, 2021
Like many of my colleagues, I have The American people have faced un- In God we trust.
seen ‘‘help wanted’’ signs all over my precedented challenges since last Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the
district. I have heard from local job spring. Now, safe and effective vaccines former speaker because of his experi-
creators about the difficulties they have given us renewed hope that we ence in small business and running a
face in hiring workers they need just to can defeat COVID–19, rebuild our econ- business for a majority of his life.
stay open. Many have told me they omy, and return to normal life. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
can’t even get people to show up for an Let’s not put our recovery at risk by gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs.
interview. pushing workers to the sidelines of this MILLER).
Enhanced Federal unemployment economy. Let’s get Americans back to Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia. Mr.
benefits made sense last year as a way work, Main Street businesses back on Speaker, I rise today to share stories of
to keep those who lost a job and to re- their feet, and the American Dream employers across the country who are
duce the economic impact of govern- back on track for every single Amer- struggling to find and hire employees.
ment-imposed business closures and ican. According to April’s disastrous jobs
stay-at-home orders. But now, we are Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the report, there are 8.1 million job open-
facing a much different situation gentleman from Texas (Mr. WILLIAMS). ings in the United States. Employers
today. Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speak- can’t fill them and, as a result, can’t
Safe and effective vaccines are bring- er, I rise to voice my concerns about operate their businesses effectively.
ing us closer to defeating COVID–19. the current state of the economy and The extended unemployment hand-
Employers have updated their facilities the worker shortages that employers outs my colleagues across the aisle
and operations so workers can safely face due to the Democrats’ extended keep reauthorizing incentivize workers
return back to work. Businesses are unemployment benefits. to stay at home and collect unemploy-
fully operating. As a small business owner for 51 ment rather than go to work.
Now is the time to reconnect unem- years, I have seen a lot. I know first- I have talked with countless small
ployed workers with their jobs, but en- hand how challenging a year of govern- business owners who cannot compete
hanced jobless benefits are discour- ment-mandated shutdowns have been with these handouts and are facing a
aging Americans from returning to for business owners. grave workforce shortage.
work, making it impossible for busi- The enhanced unemployment bene- I recently visited with manufacturers
nesses to hire. in Minnesota. They have had to reduce
fits in last year’s CARES Act were
The Democrats’ partisan $1.9 trillion their output on medical device orders
meant to be temporary and targeted to
spending bill extended supplemental by 20 percent because workers, who
the effects of this COVID–19 pandemic.
unemployment benefits of $300 per they pay between $14 and $16 an hour,
week until September 6. At this level, Now, over a year later, and thanks to
the success of Operation Warp Speed are making more on unemployment
nearly 40 percent of jobless Americans and choosing to stay at home.
can make more on unemployment than and the Trump administration’s focus
on vaccine development, the economy Paying people not to work won’t help
they can by returning to work. us recover from COVID–19. We must en-
Main Street businesses shouldn’t is ready to fully open. Yet, millions of
Americans who can return to work are courage people to get back into the
have to compete with the Federal Gov-
choosing a government paycheck over workforce and not stay on the side-
ernment for workers. In fact, they
earning an income. lines.
can’t compete with the Federal Gov-
Unemployment was never meant to The opportunity to work hard and
ernment for workers. The labor short-
be a full-time job. We are telling people get ahead is a pillar of the American
age currently is crushing small busi-
it is a career, for crying out loud, and Dream. Pursuing a career, providing
nesses, which are fighting to keep their
businesses alive while coming out of a living off the government for more for a family, and supporting our com-
pandemic. than 26 weeks while you are capable of munities, these are the things we
In late March, I hosted a virtual working will only delay our economic should encourage and celebrate.
roundtable and heard from a Hoosier recovery. We have got the vaccines. Now it is
who owns a small insulation company. In Texas’ 25th Congressional District, time to get back to work.
He told me: It has been quite the bur- hundreds of small businesses are feel- Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3
den to have all these tools on hand and ing the effects. They simply cannot op- minutes to the gentlewoman from
all these trucks in the driveway and to erate their businesses if employees South Carolina (Ms. MACE).
put people in the seats to get them to refuse to return to work. States need Ms. MACE. Mr. Speaker, for the last
be able to drive to homes to provide in- to enforce unemployment laws. If em- eight years, Charleston, South Caro-
sulation when nobody wants to come to ployees are offered a job and they lina, has been named the number one
work. refuse it, unemployment benefits city to travel to. Even despite the
Just last week, we saw the undeni- should immediately expire. COVID–19 pandemic, we have seen
able impact of these misguided policies Enhanced weekly payments will con- thousands of folks come and visit our
when the monthly jobs report showed tinue to eliminate the incentive to re- beautiful, historic city.
hiring slowing to a crawl in April in turn to work. Under no circumstances In the next 10 days, Charleston is
this country, despite millions of job should they continue past September. going to welcome a PGA Tournament
openings. Vaccines are widely available if peo- in Kiawah, South Carolina. There is op-
My biggest fear is that we will see ple so choose, but there are no longer portunity everywhere. Our airports are
permanent job loss across our economy excuses to remain on the sidelines. full. We are seeing a record number of
as small businesses close their doors travelers this month and this year
because they can’t hire workers that b 1915 alone. People are on the roads driving
they need. Before the pandemic, we had the to our beautiful city. Yet with all of
But it is not too late to avoid this greatest economy in modern history. this great tourism that we are having,
outcome. I recently joined Ways and Certainly the best I have seen in 51 we are having a massive labor short-
Means Republican leader KEVIN BRADY years. For all the right reasons, and age.
in introducing the Reopening America with thanks to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Take, for example, one of my friends,
by Supporting Workers and Businesses Jobs Act passed by President Trump Wade Boals, who owns Saltwater Cow-
Act. Our bill would turn extra unem- and Republicans, we had more jobs boys in Mt. Pleasant, a beautiful wa-
ployment benefits into a back-to-work than people. terfront restaurant where you can
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bonus that would incentivize these However, under President Biden and enjoy sunsets and a great cocktail or
workers to come back to work instead House Democrats, we have more jobs adult beverage of your choice. Rather
of staying on unemployment. The leg- than people, because what they ulti- than be excited about all this tourism,
islation would also reinstate the Fed- mately want is to make Americans re- he is desperate to find help, desperate
eral requirement that those receiving liant on the government. It is simply to find workers and staff to work his
unemployment benefits be engaged in called socialism. It is victims versus restaurant. So imagine a restaurant
actively searching for a job. patriots. that once had 20 employees now has
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May 12, 2021 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H2263
three, and the demand on those staff orders, and are now struggling to find labor they need because Federal unem-
who see no end in sight right now. workers to get back reopened. ployment benefits discourage workers
But he is not alone. In the State of One of those small business owners, from returning to the workplace, fur-
South Carolina, there are 85,000 jobs Jessie Sterling, shared with me her ex- ther hindering the recovery of our local
available in the last 30 days, and we perience of struggling to have full em- economies.
have 116,000 people on unemployment ployment while she raises her young President Biden dismissed these fig-
today. If you want a job, you can have children, something that was much ures as merely a snapshot in time, re-
a job. And Wade is offering great bene- more difficult when the schools were fusing to see that they represent the
fits, great salary, right on the water- closed. very real struggles our small busi-
front. There is no better place to work While her business has seen cus- nesses and communities are facing.
than Mt. Pleasant, right on the water. tomers return, many of her employees Just this weekend, I hosted our an-
The $1.9 trillion COVID relief pack- have not. Unfortunately, most of nual job fair in central Washington,
age, meant as a short-term financial Jessie’s employees opted to stay home and the changes that I saw were stark.
solution to help those most in need, and collect expanded unemployment Dozens of employers, who represented
has really turned into an entitlement. benefits rather than return to the everything from the agricultural indus-
We are making people dependent on workforce. The additional $300 means try to law enforcement offices, res-
the Federal Government for their day- that most of the part-time employees taurants, distribution centers, to gov-
to-day life, when opportunity is all are now making more on unemploy- ernment contractors handling nuclear
around them every day, even in the ment than they were making at their cleanup, were all looking to hire hun-
middle of the pandemic. job. While Jessie is responsible for the dreds of people.
It turns out, when you pay people to education and care of her children, she And guess what?
stay at home and not go to work, they now has the additional stress of pick- Less than 100 applicants showed up.
ing up extra shifts to cover for the em- Two years ago, we had 500 attendees
actually do that; they stay at home.
ployees who aren’t coming back. competing for many of the same kinds
Wade is just one example. There are
But it doesn’t have to be this way. of jobs.
examples everywhere. Literally every- Now, I know that our small busi-
one in every industry that I talk to, We need to shift our focus from the
early days of the pandemic, when it nesses are the economic engine of our
businesses large and small, are having economy, and we must ensure that we
the same problem. Employers are des- made sense to expand these unemploy-
ment programs, to encouraging a re- can get that engine restarted as quick-
perate to find employees. ly and as safely as possible. It is time
Everywhere, even in the supply turn to work.
Just yesterday, our neighboring we reopen our economy, get our kids
chain—you look at what is happening back into the classrooms, empower the
this week with our supply chain. Truck State of Missouri opted out of the en-
hanced unemployment benefits, a move entrepreneurs who are the backbone of
driver shortages, a shortage of CDL our economy, and allow America to re-
that will help encourage work and a re-
drivers. Many of those folks are on un- cover.
turn to normalcy. Today, my col-
employment right now, rather than go Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2
leagues, Congressmen TRACEY MANN
back to work. We have enormous needs minutes to the gentleman from Min-
and JAKE LATURNER, called on Kansas
in every industry across the country nesota (Mr. HAGEDORN).
Governor Kelly to do the same thing.
today. Our American spirit is built on resil- Mr. HAGEDORN. Mr. Speaker, I
The reality is that no business, large ience, hard work, and ingenuity. We thank my colleague for holding this
or small, could ever waste as much have had many struggles over the past Special Order. It is really a very impor-
money as our Federal Government year, but our history has shown us that tant issue all across the country. And
does. When I look around us here we will overcome, not through a heavy it really doesn’t matter which district
today, I see a House of Representatives reliance on a big Federal Government, a Member of Congress represents; you
that has the slimmest majority in a but a reliance on faith, on families, and are going to have these same problems.
generation, and I see a U.S. Senate our own work ethic. We need to encour- Mr. Speaker, I spent the better part
that is evenly split 50/50, yet we are age all Americans to pursue these of last 2 weeks, during our district
chasing radicalism. This is not a ref- ideals and get our economy back to work period, traveling southern Min-
erendum on socialism or radical policy. work. nesota, meeting with all sorts of busi-
This year should be a referendum on Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 nesses, meeting with labor, talking to
both Chambers working together, in a minutes to the gentleman from Wash- the chambers of commerce. I can tell
bipartisan way, to get our kids back in ington (Mr. NEWHOUSE), a person who you that, under normal circumstances,
school and our people back to work and really does understand small business it is tough enough to run a business
through COVID–19 successfully. and farming, who understands what it and it is tough enough to be productive
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 is like to employ people and how im- and successful in small business. But
minutes to the gentleman from Kansas portant those employees are. when you have bad government poli-
(Mr. ESTES). I know that he has many Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, these cies—and that is what we have here—it
comments that are vitally important are trying times for our country, spe- makes it extra tough. In many cases it
to this issue. cifically for small business owners and is limiting production.
Mr. ESTES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my their families who, in some cases, are We are seeing companies, like United
good friend, Congressman MIKE BOST, watching their livelihoods literally dis- Commercial Upholstery in New Ulm,
for hosting this very important Special appear right before their eyes. having to turn away work. They actu-
Order hour. The jobs report that was released on ally could do three times more work
Today, we are more than a year out Friday was cited as the ‘‘largest miss’’ right now if they could find another 50
from the beginning of the COVID–19 compared to economists’ expectations employees. But it is impossible.
pandemic, and we are also 5 months since 1998. The United States filled It really doesn’t matter if it is
out from when the first dose of vaccine only 266,000 jobs of the estimated 1.3 skilled work or unskilled work; it is
was administered. Defeating the virus million that were predicted to be filled. just across the board.
through a safe and effective vaccine That is more than one million jobs less I was up in Lonsdale, Minnesota, in
has been critical in reopening our than expected. The unemployment rate Rice County, and talked to their cham-
country and our schools and getting actually rose for the first time during ber of commerce, talked to the pack-
Americans back to work. But the re- this recovery. aging company, which is the biggest
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cent partisan policies of the left dis- For over a year, our businesses have employer in town. They have produc-
courage work and create an employ- been shuttered and our schools closed, tion disruptions across the board. They
ment gap in the country. making it impossible for parents to re- just can’t find the employees.
I hear about this regularly in my dis- turn to work and for hardworking indi- Recently, in Rochester, I was at
trict in Kansas. Small businesses, who viduals to earn an honest living. Crenlo Industries, where they make
were hit hard by the pandemic, were To make matters worse, many of our these high-end cabs for heavy produc-
forced to shut down, had stay-at-home local businesses simply cannot find the tion equipment—Caterpillar, John
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H2264 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 12, 2021
Deere, those types of things. They have went through, there was nobody there last year, quite often in making sure
line employees, and they want to get working. They cordoned off the drive- that our American citizens were taken
those cabs worked through the line. through. Has anybody in America ever care of. And rightfully so. But now it is
Guess what happens? seen a McDonald’s 24-hour drive- time to go back to work.
Employees don’t show up. They can’t through closed? It was closed because With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back
fill the jobs. They have lots of disrup- nobody was there. the balance of my time.
tion. The second McDonald’s I went to, f
We are seeing these supply chain dis- there was one worker in the shop. He
said, ‘‘It is going to take me 30 minutes OUR FRIENDS IN ISRAEL ARE
ruptions all across the country, sky-
to fill your order because nobody else UNDER ATTACK
rocketing costs for materials and oth-
ers. A lot of this is tied to these bad is here, and I am making breakfast for The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under
policies. the morning shifts.’’ the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan-
What I do appreciate is some of the We have to pull back some of these uary 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the
Governors across the country who have benefits. We have to, because the way gentleman from Florida (Mr. MAST) for
taken it upon themselves to say: You you miss a jobs report by 750,000 jobs is 30 minutes.
know what we are going to do? If you by paying people to stay home. That is Mr. MAST. I am joined by my col-
don’t look for qualified work, if you not working for our economy. It is not league here, Mr. ROY. There will be
don’t accept work, you are going to working for our small businesses, and some colloquy going between us as we
we are starting to see the effects in in- each feel the need to discuss what is
lose your unemployment compensation
flation, and it is only going to get going on in Israel right now, the re-
benefits.
worse unless we act swiftly here in the sponse by the world, the response by
Unfortunately, in Minnesota and
Nation’s Capitol. the United States of America.
some other States, you have Governors Mr. ROY, I don’t know if you have
that want to hang onto emergency Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield my-
self such time as I may consume to any opening comments that you would
powers and still not make those re- like to begin with, but we can certainly
quirements. close. I thank the gentleman for his
comments. I want to thank all of my start with that.
I think at the Federal level, in my Mr. ROY. I would just say how much
Small Business Committee and other colleagues who joined me and joined us
here tonight. Thank you to my friend I appreciate the gentleman, I appre-
committees represented here, we ciate his service, I appreciate his un-
Representative JACKIE WALORSKI for
should look at how we can tie those derstanding about how important
cohosting this Special Order.
benefits to make sure that there are Israel is to us as an ally and how im-
We all agree that it was necessary for
those strings attached and we do every- Congress to step up and act quickly to portant it is for our country to stand
thing possible to get folks back in the help hardworking Americans laid off or united right now as we watch our
workforce. It is time. And I know that out of work during the widespread pan- friends under attack. I look forward to
that is always best for folks to have demic shutdowns. But here we are, engaging with him.
good, high-paying jobs, and be three vaccines later, the States are Mr. MAST. Let’s start with what my
upwardly mobile and self-sufficient. loosening restrictions. We need to friend just said, our friends under at-
b 1930 refocus on where we are going, on what tack. That first word, ‘‘under attack’’
we are doing, on making sure children is the most important part to realize
Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the here. I want to quote one of our other
gentleman from Florida (Mr. DONALDS). go back to school and people go back to
work. colleagues in a statement, Ms. OMAR,
Mr. DONALDS. The inflation report in one of her statements about these
came out this morning, 4.2 percent in- I am proud to support Ranking Mem-
ber BRADY’s Reopening America by very events. She said, ‘‘Israel air-
crease in inflation. You have got to ask strikes killing civilians in Gaza is an
Supporting Workers and Businesses
yourself what happened and how did it act of terrorism. Palestinians deserve
Act. Instead of paying people to stay
happen so fast? protection. Unlike Israel, missile de-
home, it will allow States to provide
Well, one of the key things we are fense programs such as Iron Dome
back-to-work bonuses and increased
seeing in this economy is very clear. don’t exist to protect Palestinian civil-
funding for reemployment services.
What we are seeing is that the pool of In April’s dismal jobs report, which ians. It is unconscionable to not con-
workers is actually quite small com- was mentioned earlier, it is an indica- demn these attacks.’’
pared to the demand for product from tion we have a long way to go. It is a That is absolutely right. Palestinians
people who, frankly, have been locked time that we need to get our economy don’t receive support like Iron Dome.
down for over a year who are ready to back on track and our people back to That would be akin to giving al-Qaida
go out and spend a lot of money that work. Every time we go down the or ISIS or the Taliban U.S. bomb tech-
they have saved, get back to normal street, if you listen to the people who nicians and military personnel to help
life, but there aren’t the necessary spoke here tonight, jobs, help wanted, them out. That would be the apples-to-
workforce in order to produce the level help wanted, help wanted, and no help apples comparison of giving the
of goods that the economy is demand- to be found. Why? Because as good as attackers, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic
ing. So then, of course, the price of an intention as we had when we passed jihad, others, that would be the equiva-
every individual unit is now going up the unemployment extensions, Mr. lent of giving them those kind of as-
because you have a scarcity of supply. Speaker, what we are doing is we are sets.
How did this happen? Well, when this prolonging this situation where we can Hamas purposefully makes their ci-
body passed a coronavirus spending actually get back to work. We can take vilians the shields to their offensive
bill, or the American Rescue Plan or these things off, we can actually be points. That is not hyperbole. Think
however you want to call it, when we safe going to work. We are being vac- about that, what they do to their popu-
put in an additional payment of direct cinated. Things are gearing back up. lation. I don’t want to just speak about
checks to individuals, not to mention Let’s not go down the path of govern- this in platitudes.
extended unemployment benefits that ment entrapment. Let’s go back to If the gentleman has anything to
are 100 percent to what their wages what America is about: People seeking add, by all means, I will just yield to
were before the pandemic, and you let employment when jobs are there, to him as that time arises.
that run through the later part of this bettering their family when jobs are I want to speak about these by spe-
year, you are going to see exactly what there. Not through government pro- cific incident to say exactly how much
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with HOUSE
we have seen all across America. grams, but through the opportunity of Israel is being attacked and let the
You have seen too many workers not actually working every day to provide American people judge who is the ag-
filling their shifts. I will give you an for their families and to provide their gressor here. We will go over both
example. I was at a McDonald’s drive- children and grandchildren with oppor- rocket attacks, which are acts of ter-
through, 24-hour drive-through in my tunities. rorism, and suicide bombings.
district about 12:30 in the morning. I We are going to have to do that be- You might think I am reading every
was hungry. The first drive-through I cause we have spent a lot of money this one of them in history, but I am not.
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