[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 13, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5545-H5546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         A ``STRONG'' ECONOMY?

  (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in some 
puzzlement. The President came to my part of our State last week and 
announced, ``The economy is strong here in North Carolina.'' As the 
Raleigh News & Observer observed, ``Is the President an optimist, or 
does he need an optometrist?''
  Perhaps our economy seems strong to Mr. Bush. After all, he raked in 
over $2 million at his afternoon fundraiser. But he did not seem to 
notice that we have record numbers of laid-off workers who have 
exhausted their unemployment benefits, 68,000 at last count. Our 
unemployment rate in the Raleigh-Durham area is creeping up again. The 
rolls grew by almost 2,000 last month.

[[Page H5546]]

  We have had even heavier losses in manufacturing Statewide, where 
158,000 such jobs have disappeared since the President took office.
  President Bush's declaration of our so-called ``strong'' economy is 
simply out of touch. He is peddling the idea is that his tax cuts for 
the wealthiest 1 percent have worked miracles. But North Carolinians 
know a sluggish recovery when they see one.
  Declaring our economy strong does not make it so, and it does not put 
food on the table either. The News & Observer noted that the President 
did not take questions from local reporters. Is it any wonder why?

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