Read first time 02/18/11.   Referred to Committee on Labor, Commerce & Consumer Protection.

     TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Throughout the current economic downturn, Washington State has been able to provide millions of dollars of unemployment insurance benefits to hundreds of thousands of unemployed workers in the state without sacrificing the solvency of the state's unemployment insurance trust fund; and
     WHEREAS, Washington has managed the state's unemployment insurance trust fund in an exceptionally prudent and responsible manner, allowing the state to fully pay unemployment insurance benefits without seeking a loan from the federal unemployment account; and
     WHEREAS, As of February 9, 2011, thirty states and one territory have outstanding loans from the federal unemployment account totaling over 42 billion dollars; and
     WHEREAS, Federal and state unemployment insurance taxes in states with outstanding loans must be raised significantly to pay back the federal unemployment account loans and interest due on the loans; and
     WHEREAS, Current legislative proposals seek various changes to unemployment loan repayment provisions, including allowing states with outstanding loans to forego or delay interest payments; and
     WHEREAS, Providing relief from interest and other payments in states that have failed to adequately fund their unemployment insurance trust fund and borrowed from the federal unemployment account has the effect of penalizing Washington state and Washington state unemployment tax paying employers who have maintained a healthy and solvent trust fund throughout the economic recession;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully request that the United States Department of Labor provide federal unemployment tax relief to Washington state unemployment tax paying employers, and a financial benefit to the state's unemployment insurance trust fund equal to any benefit provided to states that borrowed from the federal unemployment account.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Labor, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.