[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H5950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MISSION NOT ACCOMPLISHED ON ECONOMY

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Department of Labor reported 
that hourly earnings for workers fell 1.1 percent last month. That is 
the deepest drop since the depths of the recession in 1991, and it 
follows a 0.8 decrease in hourly wages in May.
  With household income down nearly $1,500 the last 2 years, working 
families will have to work more hours just to lift their incomes to get 
back to where they were 3 years ago.
  All the while, health care costs for a family of four have gone up 
from $6,500 to $9,000, college costs have gone up 26 percent in the 
last 3 years, household bankruptcies have risen by 33 percent in the 
last 2 years, $180 billion of net value has been erased from 401(k)s.
  With a record like this, only this administration would hang the 
banner ``mission accomplished'' above the economy.
  We can do better for the middle-class families who are facing a 
squeeze on college costs, health care, savings for their own personal 
retirement and hourly working income. It is time to turn this economy 
around to reflect the economic interests of middle-class families who 
have been faced with a squeeze on them, their family and their children 
as it relates to the costs.
  It is time to put this administration's banner ``mission 
accomplished'' back where it came from.

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