[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 6, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H3644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TURNING THE ECONOMIC TIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) is recognized 
during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I am very interested in what the previous 
speaker had to say. The gentleman from New Jersey just went through the 
President's economic and job growth package by detail, yet failed to go 
by detail into the Democratic alternative to creating jobs and 
stimulating economy because they have no alternative. The gentleman 
quotes the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities as if they are a 
think tank with credibility. That group is filled with Democratic Hill 
staffers and former administration people; and obviously, they are not 
a think tank, they are an opposition research organization, so they 
have no credibility in terms of what we need to stimulate our economy 
and grow jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, too many Americans ready and willing to work are not 
able to find work. That is the problem. Companies are not investing or 
expanding, and jobs are not being created. The President's jobs and 
growth package which the House will take up this week will help remedy 
those problems. His proposal will immediately stimulate the economy to 
create new jobs and provide the framework for long-term economic 
growth. It will provide stimulative tax relief on dividends and capital 
gains, move the income tax rate reductions planned for 2006 up to this 
year, and it will eliminate the marriage tax penalty. It will increase 
the child tax credit, and it will accelerate business depreciation 
schedules.
  Mr. Speaker, that is a real jobs and growth package, and it is not 
based on some opposition research organization, it is based on history 
and we understand when we cut taxes we grow the economy. All of these 
provisions will get jobs into the hands of people who need them, and 
money in the form of paychecks, not handouts, in the hands of American 
families.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) and the Committee on Ways 
and Means will propose a package to help create jobs for the millions 
of Americans out of work and help create an economic environment that 
rewards investment and risk. The President's plan is an American 
solution to an American problem.
  Congress should get out of the way and let entrepreneurs and workers 
create jobs through investment, innovation and hard work. But for them 
to do that, they need real tax relief, substantial enough to do some 
good in our $10 trillion economy. We do not need timid proposals or 
hidden tax hikes in the guise of offsets that will only reinforce 
current anxieties.
  Mr. Speaker, after the brief session in 2001, the economic 
ramifications of the 9/11 attacks and the understandable anxieties 
during the buildup to the battle of Iraq, we have finally turned this 
corner toward greater economic recovery. The American people want jobs, 
and they deserve an economy strong enough to create those jobs.
  The President's proposal will create jobs and, finally, turn the 
economic tide away from anxiety and into the favor of workers, small 
business people, homeowners, parents and retirees. I look forward to 
the debate and its ultimate passage.

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