Good Paying Jobs

Sen. Deb Fischer

Whenever I speak with Nebraskans looking for work, they always tell me one thing: they want a good-paying job so they can provide for themselves and for their families. Rather than holding back economic progress with an outdated tax code, burdensome regulations, and government-driven uncertainty, Congress should pass policies that actually help the unemployed obtain good-paying jobs.

The Senate recently considered legislation to extend unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term unemployed. This extension would make retroactive payments from January 2014 through next month – a total period of five months.

I believe that unemployment insurance provides a needed safety net for Americans struggling to find work in a very tough job market. However, the best way to truly help the unemployed is to pass policies that create jobs and get people back to work.

Extending unemployment benefits without addressing job creation is simply putting a band aid on the symptoms. If we’re going to actually tackle the underlying problem of unemployment, I believe we need to pass measures that encourage employers to hire new workers, grow existing businesses, and start new companies.

I filed an amendment to the Senate unemployment insurance extension bill that would promote entrepreneurship and strengthen job-training services for the unemployed. My amendment would require the Department of Labor to establish a set of standards that in turn would allow job training centers to provide entrepreneurial services. Currently job training centers do not provide such training and there are thousands of individuals nationwide who would benefit from understanding how to start their own businesses. The job training centers would then be able to count those who create their own business as a “successful employment outcome.”

The funding each job-training center receives is based on its ability to actually help the unemployed find work. Giving centers the ability to measure the success of entrepreneurial training would encourage them to offer these valuable services – services that are already authorized under current law. Additionally, it would give more men and women the ability to not only find a job, but to also pursue their passions by opening their own businesses.

This is just one of the many ideas my colleagues and I have offered in the Senate. There are 3.8 million Americans who have been unemployed for six months or longer. These Americans deserve a Congress that makes it easier, not harder, to create jobs.

Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid once again shut down the amendment process, preventing a vote on my straightforward, non-controversial amendment. Despite this frustration with the party in power, I remain committed to working with all of my fellow senators, Republican and Democrat, to find ways we can make it easier and less expensive for employers to hire new workers.

Another great way we can get Americans back to work is the Hire More Heroes Act, a bill introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that I am proud to cosponsor. This bill removes a burdensome requirement of Obamacare that is discouraging small businesses from hiring our nation’s veterans. The law’s costly employer mandate requires all businesses with more than 50 full-time equivalent employees to provide health insurance to their employees or pay a fee. The legislation I’m cosponsoring exempts veterans who already have health insurance through the Department of Veteran Affairs or TRICARE from being counted towards this requirement.  This exemption will incentivize employers to hire these highly qualified men and women who have dutifully served our country and possess valuable skills and training to offer employers in Nebraska and across the country.

I will continue to work to pass policies that help unemployed men and women find good-paying jobs, and as always, I welcome your suggestions and ideas to help get our economy moving again. Thank you for participating in the democratic process, and I look forward to visiting with you again next week.