Lamar Alexander on his vote against Democratic legislation that would extend unemployment benefits

March 27, 2014 - U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on his vote against Democratic legislation that would extend unemployment benefits without considering Republican proposals to help unemployed Americans:

"There are many good ideas for helping unemployed Americans find a job, and Republican proposals should be debated and deserve a vote. The Democratic leader has repeatedly cut off amendments and debate on important issues facing our country. We need to offer Americans real solutions to jumpstart our slow economy by liberating the free enterprise system, replacing long-term unemployment insurance with job training and using existing federal education dollars to give low-income families the chance to choose a better school."

Alexander is a cosponsor of the Workforce Investment Act of 2013, bipartisan legislation that would provide approximately $145 million for job training in Tennessee, and was passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, of which Alexander is the lead Republican. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a more streamlined version of the Senate legislation earlier this year that would consolidate 35 federal programs and create a single Workforce Investment Fund.

Alexander has introduced the Scholarships for Kids Act, which would create $2,100 scholarships out of existing federal education dollars to follow 11 million low-income children to schools they attend. He has also supported efforts to repeal burdensome regulations, such as Obamacare, that make it harder and more expensive for businesses to create jobs.

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