Washington, DC-- Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) released the statement of Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger on Congress's successful cloture vote on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act.

Said Burger:

Today the Senate took the first step in getting America back to work in allowing the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act to move forward. As part of a comprehensive jobs agenda to stabilize our fragile economy, we need Congress to continue to take these kinds of positive steps forward. Majority Leader Reid's leadership resulted in a bill that stripped the giveaways to corporate lobbyists, and instead focused on the important work of actually creating jobs.

"The next step is even more critical. Now Congress must immediately move to provide fiscal relief for state and local governments, as well as extensions of unemployment insurance and Medicaid funding, which are vital to both the short and long-term health of our employment sector.

"More than 27 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed--that's about the population of 18 states combined. Every day more and more Americans are losing their jobs, their health insurance, their unemployment benefits and their homes. As the crisis continues, the outlook for long-term unemployment is getting worse. More than 41 percent of those who have lost their jobs have been out of work for more than 6 months-more than 6 million Americans.

"With a crisis of such epic proportions, Congress and this Administration must act boldly and bravely to get people back to work--and to solve the problems that got us here in the first place.

"The House has already passed a broad jobs bill with increased funding for state fiscal relief and we urge the Senate to follow their lead. The success of last year's Recovery Act created or saved millions of jobs, but without help from the Federal Government this fiscal year, state governments could be forced to shed another 900,000 jobs. For the millions of Americans who are worried about where their next paycheck is coming from, Congress must continue to move forward."

With 2.2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.

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