[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 100 (Wednesday, July 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H6352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        RISING UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the 
President bothers to take a look outside his helicopter window on his 
way from Crawford, Texas, to the White House to see the millions of 
people pounding the pavement looking for jobs.
  Once again, the national unemployment rate has risen. It is now 6.4 
percent, up from 6.1 percent in May; and the unemployment rate for 
Hispanics, it is even higher, up to 8.4 percent.
  Moreover, millions of students across the country this month are 
graduating from college, with over $20,000 in debt from student loans, 
wondering if they are going to get a job to begin to pay off those 
loans.
  With the economy in a state of flux at home, what does the President 
say? He says ``bring `em on'' to those who are attacking troops in 
Iraq. If the President wants to bring something on, how about a fiscal 
plan that creates jobs, that does not plunge us further into debt and 
that allows us to care for seniors in their golden years?
  It is unfortunate that he cannot be as confident and cavalier about 
the future of our economy as he is being about the lives of our troops.

                          ____________________