Today I received this message from Marco Rubio, in response to my email asking him to extend unemployment benefits. I sent him an email telling him that I just hope that at the end of his life, he finds himself broke, hungry and sick... that Karma was after him and no matter how many sips of water he would take, she will find him. Dear Ms. Noy, Thank you for contacting me in regard to unemployment insurance and its effects on the livelihood of millions of Americans. I appreciate your thoughts. Unemployment benefits are provided through unemployment insurance to eligible workers who have lost their job unwillingly. These benefits were enacted under the Social Security Act of 1935 and are funded through federal and state payroll taxes. In a non-recession period, the federal and state governments jointly fund up to 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. During times of high unemployment, the government has expanded the program past the basic coverage period, as it began to do in 2008. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program was created in 2008, which provided federal aid to states to supplement jobless benefits for longer periods of time. On December 28, 2013, funding for long-term unemployment insurance expired. Congress has not extended the long-term benefits for people unemployed over 26 weeks for 2014. As important as unemployment benefits are to thousands of Americans, they are costly and only a temporary solution. I believe Congress should cut spending to offset the cost of extending unemployment benefits. With a national debt over $17 trillion, we simply can no longer afford to spend money we dont have. We need market-based economic solutions to create more higher-paying jobs and upward mobility, not temporary programs that dont provide permanent solutions. Currently, Washington is too dysfunctional to effectively manage Americas anti-poverty programs. A better approach is to empower states to determine how to set up their own safety nets to best deal with the unique problems of each state. We should replace the earned-income tax credit with a wage enhancement that would make a job a more enticing alternative to collecting unemployment insurance. We need a better-functioning safety net that helps people get back on their feet, along with an economy thats creating more middle class jobs and an education system that helps people attain the skills to fill those better-paying jobs. Clearly, our economy has not fully recovered, but I will continue to advocate for fiscal policy that will grow the economy, promote free enterprise, limit the economic impact of big government, and assure the opportunity of future generations. Again, thank you for reaching out to me and I encourage you to do so in the future. As your senator, I will keep your thoughts in mind as I work to grow our economy and create jobs. Sincerely, Marco Rubio United States Senator
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 14:37:20 +0000
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