[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 19, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  THE HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND ECONOMY: WORSE OFF UNDER BUSH

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I look back to the year 2000 and I 
see a different country from the one we live in today. In 2000, we 
entered a new century having enjoyed a decade of unprecedented economic 
growth. During the 1990s we got our priorities together, erased the 
Federal budget deficit, and put in place the fiscal discipline that 
created a $5.6 trillion surplus. That $5.6 trillion surplus gave us the 
ability to tackle problems and ensure the solvency of Social Security 
and Medicare.
  The election of President Bush, however, ushered in a new era of 
misguided priorities that have failed. Without a doubt, our country is 
worse off now than it was 4 years ago. We stand now, this 
administration has taken that $5.6 trillion surplus and turned it into 
$4 trillion of red ink. Their insistence on tax cuts we cannot afford 
has starved our States, forcing them to cut countless services. We have 
lost 2.8 million jobs, most of them in manufacturing. Today, 44 million 
Americans are uninsured. We have an administration that cuts people 
from overtime pay and prohibits lifesaving stem cell research.
  Mr. Speaker, this administration's track record shows a derailment. 
The American people deserve a stable economy and a reliable health care 
system.

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