[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H598-H599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE PRESIDENT'S BALLOONING CREDIBILITY DEFICIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, in addressing the Republican Governors 
Association fund-raiser on Monday evening, the President, in a much-
touted speech, decided to question the Democratic front runner's 
credibility. This speech, it was touted, was to launch the President's 
reelection campaign; but it began with the theme of questioning the 
front runner of the Democratic Party's credibility.
  Let me just start off by saying it is a good thing that the White 
House is not made of glass. I think it is very interesting that the 
President decided that the credibility of our front runner was in 
question, when after only 3 years of governing, this is a President who 
has America stuck in a jobless economy and an endless occupation.
  Now, the President could have spoken about his foreign policy record, 
but all that offers is a growing and expensive prospect of endless 
occupation. He could have spoken of his leadership on the economy, but 
all he could point to is an economy that is not producing jobs. So the 
President decided that it was his right in a speech the other night to 
the Governors to lead off with a discussion of credibility.
  I think the credibility gap of the administration at this point is a 
good thing, given that his budget will widen the deficit gap. The 
deficit he has created will not be as lonely now that he has a 
credibility deficit that continues to grow.
  The President wants to question the consistency of our potential 
nominee's record, yet within 18 months he flip-flopped on steel 
tariffs. This is a President who wants to question credibility, yet in 
a book recently published by Paul O'Neill, his former Treasury 
Secretary, he questioned the legitimacy of a second tax cut he was 
going to propose because, he said, ``Haven't we done enough for the top 
end?'' Yet he went out there and accused Democrats of class warfare for 
asking the very same question he had asked, Had the first tax cut not 
done enough to take care of the top 1 percent?
  After 3 years, his economic record is $3 trillion added to the 
Nation's debt and 3 million Americans have lost their jobs, and yet he 
wants to run this election on credibility.
  He went to Ohio to talk about the importance of manufacturing jobs to 
the economy, given that 2 million manufacturing jobs have been lost in 
America since 2000. His budget, 3 years in a row, has cut the 
manufacturing extension program, which helps small manufacturing 
businesses compete in the world market. And he wants to talk about 
credibility?
  His economic report of last week praised outsourcing of jobs to 
India. This is a President who wants to talk about credibility? It was 
his economic report that cited 2.7 million new jobs would be created 
this year in the United States. In less than a week, before the ink was 
even dry, he needed to retract that, because the economy will not 
produce 2.7 million jobs. And this is an administration who wants to 
make credibility an issue?
  On the issue of foreign policy, regardless of what your position is 
on the war, we went to war on the notion of dealing with weapons of 
mass destruction, and now we have a report questioning whether weapons 
of mass destruction were ever in Iraq, which was the legitimacy and the 
principle of going to war. Yet this is an administration that would 
like to make credibility of our nominee the issue in this campaign.
  The President pledged in his recent budget $3.5 million in new money 
for police and firefighters to help communities here in the United 
States, but his budget cuts $1 billion for police and firefighters. But 
he would like to make credibility an issue.
  His plan to halve the deficit by 2009 is an ``accounting fiction'' to 
Goldman Sachs. But he would like credibility to be the issue.

[[Page H599]]

  He said the Medicare bill would cost $400 billion. Within 3 weeks 
after the ink was dry, the report came out that it would cost $550 
billion to taxpayers; $150 billion in errors in addition to the $400 
billion for the prescription drug bill. And he would like to make 
credibility an issue?
  He promised to clean up the Great Lakes, but he cut water quality 
funds by $400 million. Yet he would like to make credibility an issue 
in this campaign?

                              {time}  1615

  On policy after policy, this administration says one thing and does 
another to benefit its corporate and special interests. If we are going 
to make credibility an issue in this campaign, to quote one Senator, 
bring it on.

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