[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today asked the United States Senate to approve a fully paid-for extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund – created as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – which provides funding for the “Put Illinois to Work Program”. Senate Republicans immediately rejected the measure which supports nearly 250,000 jobs in 37 states, including 26,000 jobs in Illinois. The TANF program is scheduled to expire on Thursday, September 30, 2010.

“The Republicans are going to object. They’ve objected to continuing this program on the Continuing Resolution, and they will object to extending the program on its own. This federal initiative has funded the Put Illinois to Work program. We’ve put 26,000 people in meaningful jobs in Illinois. Losing 26,000 jobs would be a crushing blow to my state, which has an unemployment rate of 10.4%. Governor Quinn is trying to figure out how to save at least some of these jobs, but the Republicans in the Senate are making that very hard.”

Text of Durbin’s remarks as prepared appear below

Senator Richard J. Durbin

September 28th, 2010

Extending the TANF Jobs Program

What is happening on the Senate floor this afternoon should tell the American people just about everything they need to know about what the upcoming election is all about.

Here’s the choice facing the American people: the Democrats are trying to help Americans get back to work. The Republicans are determined that the Democrats fail, regardless of the consequences to the American people.

Here’s a stark example -- a program called the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund. This program helps states subsidize the cost of hiring low-income, unemployed workers in mostly private sector jobs.

This small program has had a huge effect -- nearly 250,000 jobs have been created in 37 states.

It’s a program that everyone should love. Rather than paying people to do nothing, this program helps private companies hire the employees that they need but can’t quite afford.

And yet, the Republicans are saying “No” to extending the program past this Thursday. This program must die, they say.

Why? Only one reason: because this program was created by last year’s Economic Recovery Act.

The Republicans are so stuck in their ideology – if it’s “stimulus” it must be bad – that they are willing to let a quarter million Americans lose their jobs on Friday.

Senator Kerry has a simple bill that would extend the jobs program by three months, and it is fully paid for by reducing the TANF program’s future budget.

The Republicans are going to object. They’ve objected to continuing this program on the Continuing Resolution, and they will object to extending the program on its own.

This federal initiative has funded the Put Illinois to Work program. We’ve put 26,000 people in meaningful jobs in Illinois. Losing 26,000 jobs would be a crushing blow to my state, which has an unemployment rate of 10.4%.

Governor Quinn is trying to figure out how to save at least some of these jobs, but the Republicans in the Senate are making that very hard.

And it’s not just Illinois that would suffer. 110,000 of the jobs that would be lost are in states represented by Republican Senators.

40,000 jobs in Texas, which is represented by two Republican Senators.

20,000 jobs in Georgia, which is represented by two Republican Senators.

10,000 jobs in Kentucky, which is represented by two Republican Senators. One of those Senators is, of course, the Minority Leader, who has been adamant that this program be killed.

It’s ideology, pure and simple. It makes no difference that over 110,000 of their own constituents could lose their jobs this week. If it’s a program supported by the President and the Democrats, it must end.

We should extend this program. There is no good reason we shouldn’t save 26,000 jobs for low-income people in Illinois and keep a quarter million Americans from losing their jobs.