[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORTING BUSH ECONOMIC INITIATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of President 
Bush's economic initiatives. As a former small businessman, I have 
watched closely as the President's initiatives have improved the 
economy, even in the aftermath of September 11.
  Mr. Speaker, we are getting a lot of backlash from folks who say the 
economy is not doing well. Well, they are wrong. These are just a few 
of the positive headlines that are coming out of my district: ``West 
Texas Housing Moves Up At Record Levels.'' ``Statewide Confidence Index 
Predicts Economy is on the Upswing.'' ``Jobless Rate the Lowest in 
Almost 4 Years.'' ``The Economy is Doing Well.''
  When President Bush took office, the economy was headed into a 
recession. The stock market had just collapsed, the manufacturing 
industry was at an all-time low, and then the United States was hit 
with the events of 9-11, and then military campaigns on the war on 
terrorism. Now, durable goods shipments are up, factory orders are up, 
consumer spending is up. Today the housing ownership rate in America is 
the highest it has ever been in the history of this country. The 
President has shown, and I agree, when you put the money in the hands 
of the small business people in America, they will create jobs. Mr. 
Speaker, what the President knows and what I know is that the American 
people know how to spend their own money a lot better than the United 
States Congress does.
  In an article dated just a week ago in Odessa, Texas, saw sales tax 
revenues rise for the 15th straight month, and the entire Permian Basin 
showed strong gains and signs of improving. In Odessa, more and more 
people are employed and they are spending their money, which is 
strengthening the local economies.
  The Democrats are saying, we are not adding jobs to this economy. 
Well, the truth is, the economy has experienced 6 consecutive months of 
job growth and has added 364,000 jobs over the last 6 months. There are 
nearly 3 million more workers now than in early 2002. Basically, more 
Americans were working in January 2004 than at any other time in the 
history of this country.
  Democrats would have the American people believe that more and more 
people are being laid off every day. Once again, they are wrong. The 
unemployment rate is down. Today's rate, in fact, is below the average 
for the entire decades of the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s. Even 
when the Democrats ended a temporary extended unemployment benefits 
program in the 1990s, today's unemployment rate is lower than it was at 
that time.
  The manufacturing arena, which has struggled for 37 months of 
decline, is reporting expanded employment for the fourth consecutive 
month. So that when Democrats complain that the industry is 
hemorrhaging, that is simply not true. Like former President Reagan, I 
believe fervently that the government should cut taxes and regulations 
on small businesses, enabling them to do what they do best, and that is 
create jobs.
  Those in the House who oppose these values believe that the Federal 
Government has an income problem. That is not true. The Federal 
Government has a spending problem.
  When my sons came home from college and said, Dad, I am out of money, 
can I have some more, the answer was, no, you will have to tighten your 
budget and work with the money that your mother and I give you. What 
they know, what I know, and what my colleagues know is the way we cure 
deficits is not with giving people more money; you encourage them to 
spend less money. And that is the way the Federal Government should 
act.
  I believe in tax cuts as a solution rather than a contributor to the 
deficits. I credit President Bush's tax cuts, which were pushed through 
Congress for an additional 21,000 new jobs just last month.
  I served for years in the land development industry, and I watched 
the market move up and down and back and forth, but more recently I 
have seen a huge surge in the housing market. More single family homes 
were purchased in 2003 than any other year in the history of this 
country, and the homeownership rate in America is at an all-time high. 
President Bush's initiatives to dismantle the barriers to homeownership 
include providing down payment assistance through the American Dream 
Down Payment Initiative, increasing the supply of affordable homes 
through the Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, and increasing 
the support for the Self-Help Ownership and Opportunities Program, and 
increasing home-buying education and counseling.
  In June 2002, President Bush issued the American Homeowners Challenge 
to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to encourage them to 
join the effort to close the gap that exists between minorities and 
nonminorities. The President also announced the goal of increasing the 
number of minority homeownership by at least 5.5 million families 
before the end of the decade.
  Congress has a choice. It can continue to grow the economy and create 
jobs as the President's policies are doing, or it can raise taxes on 
American families, hurting the economic recovery and any future job 
creation.
  I stand with small businessmen and women of America who say the 
President is absolutely right.

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