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92_HR0824
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Unemployment insurance is the bedrock of the
3 social safety net for workers who have been laid off and are
4 seeking jobs and is the first line of defense during economic
5 downturns; and
6 WHEREAS, Unemployment insurance not only provides vital
7 income support to laid-off workers, but also stabilizes the
8 local, State, and national economies because the benefits
9 workers receive are invested back into the community; and
10 WHEREAS, President Bush's proposal would destroy the
11 federal-state partnership on which the unemployment insurance
12 system is founded and would eliminate the historic role of
13 the federal government in both ensuring that administrative
14 financing keeps pace with ever-changing workload needs and
15 assuring that the program is implemented consistently across
16 the country; and
17 WHEREAS, Although the Bush administration proposes to
18 provide much-needed additional "Reed Act" funding for state
19 unemployment programs, under the proposal states will receive
20 no federal aid to fund the administrative costs of the
21 unemployment insurance system after 2006; and
22 WHEREAS, President Bush's proposal would force our State
23 to choose whether to cut benefits for unemployed workers or
24 raise taxes in order to make up for the loss of federal
25 administrative payments that will result from the cut in the
26 Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) flat tax from $56 per
27 worker per year to $14 per worker per year; and
28 WHEREAS, President Bush's proposal would jeopardize the
29 federal government's ability to help our State respond to
30 economic downturns by drastically reducing the funding now
31 dedicated to the Federal Unemployment Trust Funds; and
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1 WHEREAS, The Bush administration's proposal would do
2 nothing to help states cope with the challenges of expanding
3 and modernizing their unemployment insurance systems,
4 including assuring that more low-wage and part-time workers
5 are covered when they become unemployed; therefore be it
6 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY, that we urge Governor Ryan to
8 oppose the Bush administration's misguided unemployment
9 insurance devolution proposal; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That we also urge the Governor to encourage the
11 Bush administration to instead work with the states to ensure
12 that states receive a greater level of workload-based federal
13 appropriations for administrative financing and to provide
14 new dedicated federal funding to help states cover the
15 workers who are now having the hardest time collecting
16 unemployment benefits; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 delivered to Governor Ryan and to each member of the Illinois
19 congressional delegation.