[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 18, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ARE YOU BETTER OFF?

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Yes, it was a famous American who once asked, ``Are 
you better off today than you were 4 years ago?'' To most Americans, 
the answer is ``no.'' That is not just me saying it. A Gallup poll 
found that 62 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the way things 
are going here at home.
  There is a reason why a majority of Americans believe that our 
country is headed in the wrong direction under the leadership of 
President Bush. Median income has dropped 3.3 percent since President 
Bush was elected.
  Two million Americans have lost their jobs since President Bush got 
his.
  Three-and-a-half million people have moved onto the poverty rolls 
since President Bush moved into the White House.
  Four million more people are uninsured since President Bush was sworn 
in.
  Our constituents are being gouged at the gas pump while President 
Bush fills his campaign coffers with checks from big oil and big gas.
  Consumer confidence, which was at 115.7 in January 2001, was at 92.9 
last month.
  College tuition, up 14 percent in 1 year.
  We are not better off.

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