[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H543-H548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE OFFICIAL TRUTH SQUAD
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 4, 2005, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) is recognized
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity given
to me by the leadership and by the Republican Conference to come and
share a few words this afternoon. This is something that we call the
Official Truth Squad, and we have been coming to the floor of the House
almost every day that we have been in session this year.
We who have organized it are the freshman class. There are about 25,
26 members of the Republican freshman class. We are the new folks on
the block. We have been in Congress now for about 14 months. And one of
the things that disturbed us so, being here, was the tone of the
debate, was the level of incredible partisanship, the remarkable and
distasteful distortion of facts, the personal attacks, some of which we
have heard within the past 30 minutes. The hyperbole and the
disinformation and the misinformation that goes on here in Washington
seems to be kind of the order of the day.
What we thought we might be able to do to contribute to kind of
raising the level of the rhetoric and the tone is to develop what we
call the Official Truth Squad. And our effort and our desire is to try
to bring a positive view of America, a truthful view of America, point
out some of the wonderful and great things that go on in our Nation and
that our citizens are involved in. Because truth is incredibly
important to public debate.
Mr. Speaker, as you know, if are you not dealing with truth in the
area of public policy, you cannot reach the right solution, you just
cannot get to the right end point. That is what is so disheartening
about much of the debate that goes on here. And I say that in all
sincerity, understanding, as I know my constituents do, that these are
not Republican problems or Democrat problems, these are American
challenges that all of us face. So truth is so incredibly important.
In my former life, I was a physician, and I knew that if I did not
have truthful, accurate information going in to take care of a patient,
that I could not make the right diagnosis. If somehow the information
was distorted or not accurate, then it just was not possible to get to
the right diagnosis.
The same is true in the public policy arena. If we are not talking
about truthful items, then it just becomes that much more difficult to
reach appropriate conclusions. I know that when I go home and talk to
my constituents. They say, do you not get tired of all of that
negativity up there? And I do. And I know that you do too, Mr. Speaker.
But that is why our goal is to try to put a little positive spin on
exactly what is happening here in Washington and present to the
American public an optimistic view of where we are.
And we have in the Official Truth Squad many quotes that we are fond
of. One of the ones I am most fond of is one from former New York U.S.
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He says, ``Everyone is entitled to
their own opinion, but not their own facts.'' Everyone is entitled to
their opinion, but not their own facts.
And it really is so true about much of the debate that goes on here
in Washington. Because with many people, everybody obviously has their
opinions. But oftentimes they are not supported by facts. And we have
heard recently some incredible accusations given about, for example,
the Dubai Ports deal.
Now, I am not certain that I support that at all, but I do know that
unless you are dealing with truth and with fact, you cannot reach the
right conclusion. And one of the things that has come to the floor is
this huge accusation that there just has not been any money for port
security, that Congress has been delinquent, that the White House has
been delinquent, that they are not even paying attention to what is
happening at the ports.
Well, here are the facts. Here are the facts. Port security funding
in 2001, prior to 9/11, was at a level of about $250 million. $250
million. Fiscal year 2006, port security nearly $3 billion. Nearly $3
billion. The request for 2007, over $3.5 billion.
So when you look at the facts, they do not back up the rhetoric of so
many individuals who are obviously playing politics. And you cannot
take the politics out of politics, I understand that. But it is
important that we talk about truth. It is important that we talk about
real numbers when we are trying to get to solutions to these incredible
challenges that we have before us.
So there are the facts on port security funding. Almost a 700 percent
increase since 9/11. Mr. Speaker, that certainly is not inattentiveness
to port security funding.
We have also heard recently about the ``cuts'' in certain budgetary
items; and the other side is fond of saying that there are cuts in
Medicare and cuts in education. And so what I would like to do today is
just share very briefly with folks what the actual facts are, what the
truth is.
This is Medicare funding. This is Medicare spending from 1995 to
2005. These are not my numbers, these are Treasury, budget office of
the U.S. Government: 1995, $156.9 billion; 2000, $187 billion; 2005,
$294 billion.
Now, Mr. Speaker, I do not know where you went to school, but I do
not think that they would call moving from $187 billion to $294 billion
a ``cut.'' It is simply not. And so when people describe it as such,
then all they are doing is playing on the fear of the American public.
And that does a disservice to the debate. It is dishonest. It does not
help get us to the right conclusion. Medicare spending every single
year has increased.
Education spending: Many are fond of saying that the amount of money
spent on education over the past 5 years has been cut. You have heard
them say that. I heard them say that. I always shake my head when I
hear it, because if you look at the facts, if you look at the truth,
what we have here is total education spending since the year 2000 to
2005 has grown, on average, 9.1 percent each year over the past 5
years.
Those are the facts. That is the truth.
So when you hear people talk about the kind of allegations that they
have regarding decreases to, cuts in spending, it simply is not so.
What they are talking about it a decrease in the increase; only in
Washington is that described as a ``cut.''
So it is important that we talk about truthful things. It is
important we talk about facts, important that we agree on those items
before we get to the solution to the remarkable challenges that we
have.
Today we are going to talk a little bit about the economy. And if you
were just getting your information from the major media markets, the
major television stations and the networks, or the major newspapers
across this Nation, you might not appreciate that the economy is
ticking along pretty doggone well. And so we are going to bring some
information today, some facts, some truth about the economy, that we
hope will be helpful to the debate and also helpful information for the
American public.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be joined today by many of my
colleagues, and initially, Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito from West
Virginia. Congresswoman Capito is a veteran here compared to us
freshmen. She is from West Virginia and has been a real leader in the
area of our economy, and a real leader in the area of health care, has
been working actively to make certain that health care costs do not
continue to skyrocket because they play into our economy to a great
degree.
So I am so pleased that you are able to join us. I yield to you and
look forward to your comments.
{time} 1430
Mrs. CAPITO. I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia for his
leadership on so many issues, but also on his leadership of the
Official Truth Squad.
I think one of the things that I find when I go back to my home
district is people do not get what the real truth is. The way we debate
here in Congress, it is almost who can besmirch somebody's character.
Who can besmirch
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somebody's program. Who can say in the most sensational way why
something is not good, instead of actually looking at the facts and
debating the truth on the facts.
That is why I am pleased to be here today, because I want to talk
about something that I think is very good news for the American public,
and certainly the State I represent, West Virginia, is one of these and
that is the state of our economy.
The American economy in 2005 was the envy of the world. Just
yesterday, the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, was here
extolling the virtues of a democratic government, extolling the virtues
of the enormous economic engine that the United States has and brings
to the global economy. And I think he made us realize that, number one,
we should not take this for granted and, number two, we should
recognize it.
I will talk about facts. We will stick with the facts today. Just the
facts, ma'am. That is what they say. The economy grew at a robust 3.5
percent rate in 2005, making this the fourth year of expansion. For 10
of the last 11 quarters, the economy has grown at better than 3.3
percent and that is sizable. Furthermore, our economy's fundamental
health was underscored by the fact that gulf coast hurricanes and
rising energy prices could not derail significant growth, much to our
relief.
We have now seen 29 consecutive months of job gains. During this
period, 4.8 million jobs were created, and 193,000 just this past
January. The latest national employment figure, 4.7, is the best since
July 2001, two months shy of September 11. In my home State of West
Virginia, we have perennially fought high unemployment. We have
perennially fought low economic gains, but I am really pleased West
Virginia is part of this economic boost we are feeling across the
country.
Our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in January;
3.8 percent is the lowest seasonally adjusted rate we have ever had in
the history of keeping statistics in West Virginia. In December alone,
the statistics of unemployment was the lowest rate that had ever been
in the history of any December when that rate was recorded in the State
of West Virginia. That is wonderful news for our State.
The numbers do not lie. They are real results, and the results like
these do not happen by accident. Not so long ago in late 2001 during
the recession, the economy was being afflicted by serious problems in
the wake of 9/11, corporate scandals, and other problems. Economic
growth was lagging, and Americans had stopped investing like they used
to. There was no job growth, or very little. Fortunately, we here in
the House acted on a piece of commonsense legislation. The less you tax
something, the more you get. That goes for income, but it also goes for
investment. So Congress responded with real tax relief in 2003,
encouraging more Americans to invest their earnings.
The Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 lowered all individual tax rates, but
lowered the individual tax rate on dividend and capital gains to 15
percent. This loosened the shackles on every individual and freed the
genius of the American economy. Since May 2003 when the Jobs and Growth
Act was enacted, 4.7 million jobs have been created. Now, that is a
truth that is undeniable.
After nine straight declining quarters of business, we have seen 10
straight quarters of rising business investment. Unemployment had
reached 6.3 percent in 2003; and as I said today, the 4.7 figure is
lower than the averages of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
An added benefit of the tax cut was that the Federal Government
actually collected more tax revenue from capital gains even though the
rate was lowered. From 2003 to 2004, revenues from capital gains taxes
increased from $50 to $60 billion. Last year, the Federal Government
received $75 billion in capital gains tax revenue. In fact, overall
government tax revenue is currently at its highest level in American
history, and our State revenues are reflecting this as well. So we need
to keep that tax rate at 15 percent.
We recently passed H.R. 4297, and this bill would make the 15 percent
tax rate permanent, and I am hopeful that will pass. But, you know, it
is not Washington, D.C. that drives the economy. It is the daily
choices of millions of free Americans that drive it. Small businessmen
and -women, miners, farmers, taxi drivers, doctors, teachers, all these
people who contribute to what we call the national economy. And we
should always remember that we owe the strength of our economy to all
these hardworking Americans who quietly make this country work every
single day.
I would like to take just a few more minutes about my home State of
West Virginia. I am very proud that we have had low unemployment. It
has been spiraling downward over the last several months. Our
homeownership has gone up. We are at one of the highest levels of
homeownership across the Nation.
Our crime rate, which we are very, very pleased is perennially low,
is lower than ever. I think that is indicative of the rise of the
economy and the feeling of robustness and optimism that they have that
they can provide for their families.
In West Virginia, more people are going to college than ever before.
To me that is an indicator of several things: people are preparing to
engage in the knowledge-based economy that we see in our future. Also,
if they are able to go on to college right after high school, what does
that tell you? It means they can improve their education and they do
not need to go into the workforce right away to help their families.
And this is a positive step, I think, in broadening and making our West
Virginia economy much greater.
As everyone knows, coal is very important to our West Virginia
economy. We are a resource-based economy. We always have been. We have
had some very sad times recently in our coal industry, and I want to
take this opportunity to thank the Nation for their heartfelt prayers
and sincere thoughts concerning the loss of our miners in West
Virginia.
It has been very difficult for us because we are a small State. We
care about each other very much and one person's loss is every person's
loss. That is why we are working in a bipartisan way to do mine safety
legislation here in Congress to help with oxygen supplies, to help with
tracking miners, to help with communications, to help with response
times. And I think that we will get to a good bipartisan resolution on
how we can prevent these accidents from happening in the future.
We have over 12 new mines opened in West Virginia. Twelve more than
last year. Over 1,200 new miners. This shows you the strength of our
economy. Over 50 percent of the electricity generated in this country
is generated through coal, and we are very, very pleased about that.
So I think that the problems now that I am hearing or whenever I go
out to my town meetings or around grocery shopping or wherever I happen
to be, I ask people all the time, how is it going? How is your
business? How is work? How are you feeling about the economy? And
honestly, to a person, the optimistic flavor of West Virginians both in
the State and national economy is immeasurable.
It is so much greater than it has been in the past, to the point
where, what am I hearing now: I cannot find enough people to employ; I
need 50 more people; we need more miners; we need more electricians; we
need more clerks. So I think that we are going to see a time of
national prosperity, as we have now, continue to grow and to continue
to make that American Dream possible for every American family: the
ability to buy a home, to raise your family in a community that you
know is safe, to be able to enjoy those small-town values that States
like Georgia and West Virginia provide in abundance to Americans.
So I am very pleased that the growth and jobs packages that we have
put forward in this Congress are translating into the real meat-and-
potato issues on the dinner tables of America. So I thank you very much
for giving me the opportunity to speak. I am going to be speaking about
this a lot because I think not only do people realize it, but they need
to be reminded that these things do not happen by accident; that
policies go into place that bring about the economic changes that bring
about more jobs, lower unemployment, more homeownership, more people
going to college, and a more optimistic attitude about our future.
[[Page H545]]
Again, I would remind you if you did not see the Prime Minister from
Italy yesterday, he had a very powerful message for Americans on
several fronts, national security certainly, but also the fact of the
admiration that people around the world and countries around the world
have for our American economy.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia so
much for sharing those words and what a wonderful, wonderful picture
you paint about West Virginia, about the economy and about the policies
that we adopt here and their effect on the Nation and each and every
State.
I too was struck by the Prime Minister from Italy, Prime Minister
Berlusconi yesterday. It was really a moving time to have him speak to
us in his native tongue and to describe what he said he saw in America.
And that is the leader of the world in the area of democracy, in the
area of freedom and liberty but also in the area of the economy, and
how those things are so interwoven and intertwined together. So I
appreciate you bringing that up. Thank you ever so much for being with
us today.
Mrs. CAPITO. Thank you.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I want to very briefly comment about how all of
our hearts go out to West Virginians and the miners and their families.
We had a committee meeting yesterday on mine safety, and I know that we
will reach the right conclusion on trying to get to the tracking and
the oxygen and resources for them. Thank you ever so much.
Mr. Speaker, did you hear the numbers that were described by the
gentlewoman from West Virginia? Did you hear the unemployment numbers:
3.8 percent in West Virginia. Most economists will tell you that 5
percent, or even some will say 6 percent, is full employment. If you
have unemployment of 5 or 6 percent, then you are at full employment
because of people desiring to be between jobs; but West Virginia is at
3.8 percent, which tracks relatively well to the entire Nation.
Again, the Official Truth Squad's desire is to put real information,
honest information, truthful numbers out for the American public and
just let them draw the conclusions that they draw, understanding that
the conclusions that we draw when we look at these numbers are pretty
doggone optimistic, pretty positive, not what you normally hear coming
out of Washington.
This chart here talks about the unemployment rate and the jobs
rebound. And the graph here goes from January of 2003 to just the end
of last year, the end of 2005. Now, it ought to go further. I have to
get this updated because the trend of these lines continues in the same
direction. And this upper line here, the red line here, is the
unemployment rate; and the green line down here is the number of jobs.
And as you see, there was a peak of unemployment around the beginning
to the middle of 2003, and that rate at that time was somewhere in the
range of 6.1, 6.2 percent.
What we have seen since that time is a steady decrease in
unemployment and a consistent increase in jobs. As the gentlewoman from
West Virginia mentioned, in January 193,000 new jobs. And although this
has the unemployment rate at 5 percent, which it was toward the ends of
2005, the unemployment rate now for the Nation is 4.7 percent.
{time} 1445
4.7 percent, as she mentioned, is the lowest monthly rate since July
of 2001.
I think it is important when we talk about these numbers, again
truthfully, honestly and openly, to give folks an opportunity to
compare them to something. What are you going to compare it to?
The best thing to compare it to is the history. What is our history?
Where has the rate been? Well, the rate that we currently have now, 4.7
percent, is lower than the average for the decade of the 1970s, decade
of the 1980s, and the decade of the 1990s. You remember the boom time
in the 1990s?
Lower than the average for the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. Over 2
million jobs created in the last 12 months and over 4.7 million jobs
created since 2003.
I am fond of charts and pictures because I think they just paint the
story so much better than I can describe it. There is also a line here,
this vertical line here of the dotted green color, and what happened at
that point, curiously enough, is what again the gentlewoman from West
Virginia mentioned, and that is, that the Jobs and Growth Act went into
effect, the fair tax decreases went into effect so that there was more
money to put into the economy so people had more disposable income. And
when you give people back more of their own money, what happens? The
economy booms, the economy increases and gets better. So it is a cause-
and-effect relationship without any doubt.
I mentioned the number of new jobs, 4.7 million new jobs, and again,
with a picture being able to paint it so much better than I can
describe, on this axis down here, we have January 2002, all the way
over to January 2006. These are the percentages of unemployment, the
monthly change each month in the number of jobs, the amount of
unemployment, and before the fair tax decreases went into effect, what
you see is a decrease in the number of jobs available, lower jobs
available.
Then, as soon as that happens, as soon as those tax decreases went
into effect, what happens? We see significant increases in the number
of jobs available; so much so that it is a steady run, and it continues
as such, again, 193,000 new jobs in January of this year.
So these are facts. This is the truth. The picture tells the story,
and it is a story, again, that you often do not get if you are paying
attention to your nightly news or your friendly newspaper.
So we are proud and pleased to come before the American people and
tell this kind of optimistic and positive story.
I am always pleased to be joined by the gentlewoman from Virginia,
another fellow freshman who, like I, was somewhat distressed at the
tone of the rhetoric that we heard in Washington and was really a prime
mover in getting this started, this Official Truth Squad, to bring a
positive message to the American people.
And today, talking about the economy, a successful small business
woman; and I am so pleased to have you join us again. I yield to the
gentlewoman from the great State of Virginia (Mrs. Drake).
Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I thank you, Congressman Price, and I really
do appreciate the effort you have made to make sure that the American
people truly understand what is happening within our economy today. I
know you and I share a lot of very similar beliefs.
I just wanted to start today by reminding you and bringing to mind
again a really wonderful quote by former President Ronald Reagan, when
he said, ``There are no great limits to growth because there are no
limits of human intelligence, imagination and wonder,'' and that is
part of what you are seeing in this increase in job growth.
We believe that the strength of our Nation lies with the individual
and that each person's dignity, freedom and ability and responsibility
must be honored. We believe that free enterprise and encouraging
individual initiative have brought this Nation opportunity, economic
growth and prosperity.
But there is an alternative to what we believe, and that alternative
belief is one that seeks a solution that consists more of invasive
government. And not surprisingly, Ronald Reagan had something to say
about that as well. I think we as Americans remember the quote very,
very well, and it is that ``The government's view of the economy could
be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps
moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.''
In economic terms, we will all remember the 21st century began
slowly. The telecom bubble burst. We were attacked in the heart of our
financial sector. Certain industries lagged, and we had entered a
recession. It is during these difficult periods that we require
leadership more than ever. We needed to pursue positive economic
policies that would put the American people back in the driver's seat.
I know you and I share the belief that our tax policies should be one
that supports our economy, that it increases our revenue, and so that
is why I wanted to talk today about what changes have come about in the
past 5 years, these changes that support our
[[Page H546]]
American families and support American businesses.
You will remember in the 2001 tax cuts that the first objective was
to put money back in the hands of individuals and families. In June of
2001, tax cuts were enacted through the Economic Growth and Tax Relief
Reconciliation Act. Some of the most important aspects of that act are
that they lowered marginal income tax rates, reduced the marriage
penalty and the death tax, and increased the child tax credit, all
things that are very important to American families. This was
comprehensive legislation that reduced the tax burden on all Americans.
In the 2003 tax cuts, the objective was to create a more favorable
climate for industry and small business to invest and to create job
growth. In the years preceding the 2003 Jobs and Growth Act, business
investment spending had steadily declined. We needed to pull businesses
and entrepreneurs back into the market through investment-friendly tax
policies, restoring economic competitiveness and employment
opportunities. So Congress took decisive action.
Despite the naysayers, the results speak for themselves, and the
results are very clear. Growth in our economy is one of the least told
stories. I believe, and I know that you believe that if we allow
Americans to keep more of their hard-earned dollars, that they will
save that money, they will invest that money, they will create new jobs
with that money.
And business investment has grown in every quarter. Today, small
businesses, small businesses like mine, represent 99.7 percent of all
employer firms. They employ nearly half of all private sector
employees, and over the past decade, on average, have generated 60 to
80 percent of the net new jobs.
Job creation, as you were showing the chart there right now, nearly
4.7 million jobs have been created since President Bush signed the 2003
Jobs and Growth Act, with 2.1 million of those created in the past
year.
Today's unemployment rate is at 4.7 percent and is lower than the
decade averages of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. What an incredible
statement. And they are good jobs. Real, after-tax income has risen at
a rate higher than inflation since 2001, and personal income has grown
above inflation in 49 of our 50 States.
Most importantly, Federal revenues have been rising during this time.
If we let people save their money or create new jobs, create new
revenues, that creates additional tax revenue for the Federal
Government. In May of 2003, receipts were under $1.8 trillion. In
fiscal year 2005, they rose to an all-time high of $2.15 trillion.
We realize that we cannot feed the Federal Treasury by starving
American businesses, but thanks to these policies, more low- and
middle-income Americans looking for a job will be able to find one
simply because there are 2.1 million more jobs this year.
But you and I realize there is more work to be done, that America
agrees, and I think it is in everyone's minds that we do need complete
tax reform, and I know that is something we will be working on.
I really think that there are models across the world for us, and I
think the most compelling story today is the story of Ireland. In the
mid-1980s, Ireland's economy was faltering; we all know that. College
graduates could not find a job and were leaving the country in droves.
Confidence in the Irish economy was at an all-time low. Change was
necessary, along with the leadership necessary to implement it.
The corporate tax rate today in Ireland is 12.15 percent, far below
the rest of Europe. This attracted foreign investment necessary to
boost economic growth. Today, nine of ten of the world's top
pharmaceutical companies and seven of the top ten software designers
currently have operations in Ireland, and it is currently the second
richest country in the European Union with a per capita GDP higher than
that of Germany, France and Britain.
Now we have to ask ourselves, do we continue to encourage American
businesses by creating the climate necessary for success or do we allow
them to go somewhere else?
So I thank you for the opportunity, thank you for your work in making
sure that we do tell the American people the good news story that we
are in as a result of the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. It is our
responsibility to make sure that we maintain a solid policy, tax policy
that grows our economy, grows our revenues and benefits each and every
American.
Thank you for what you are doing.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, you are very kind. I appreciate
you coming and sharing those words and, once again, words of optimism,
words of truthful perspective as it relates to the United States.
I was struck by your description of the tax policy because what we
saw with that tax policy is the increase in the child tax credit, the
decreased marriage penalty. These are family-friendly things. This is
what some of the folks on the other side of the aisle will call tax
cuts for the wealthy. It just is not so. Again, we have got to talk
about truth if we are going to get to the right solution.
When you decrease taxes, as you well know, on small business, which
is the engine of our economy, small businesses across our Nation, what
happens is that you allow individuals more opportunity for employment.
When people have jobs, then they are able to care for their families
and, again, a family-friendly environment that we have in this Nation
now as it relates to tax policy. Those are the kinds of things that
need to continue.
People say, well, what difference does it make who is in charge there
in Washington? I am here to tell you, elections are about choices and
the choices we are going to have this year are fairly stark from
individuals on one side who will tell you that, no, you do not need to
have the kind of tax decreases, the tax cuts, that we have had; what
the government needs is more of your money. That just is not the case,
as we have demonstrated time and time again here with The Official
Truth Squad.
But when you put more people's money back in their pockets, what
happens? They are happier, their families are more secure, the
communities are more secure, and businesses and the economy flourish.
So thank you very much for sharing those kind words.
I was also struck by the description of Ireland, which nobody a few
years ago would have said was an economic engine or a powerhouse, but
now it is. It is again because of their tax policy that is friendly to
business, which, in turn, becomes friendly to communities and friendly
to families, and that is how economics work.
If you appreciate and you understand how a capitalist economy works,
and then you understand that it is important to put more money, more
people's money back in their own pockets; that it is not the
government's money, it is the people's money; and that we here in
Washington do not have a revenue problem, we have got a spending
problem.
So I am so pleased to be able to be joined by my colleagues to bring
light to that, and one of my great freshman colleagues who has just
been a wonderful contributor and supporter and innovator in the
Official Truth Squad joins us now, the gentlewoman from North Carolina
(Ms. Foxx). She is a great friend, has a great history in the arena of
education, but understands clearly the importance of a positive
economic outlook and a positive economic perspective and economic
policy.
So I welcome and yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Foxx).
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Price for yielding. I
appreciate it very much, and as our colleagues have expressed to you
before, we thank you for organizing these meetings and helping to get
the Truth Squad out here.
Many of us have been concerned for the past several months that there
is a lot of disinformation out there and that the time has come for us
to set the record straight, and I think that it is very important that
we do so. Just saying things will not make them so, but if they are not
responded to, then people will believe that they are so.
I thought that our colleague, the gentlewoman from the State of
Virginia (Mrs. Drake), was doing a great job of talking about several
of the issues that I think are important, and talking about Ireland as
a great success story is important to do.
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Our economy is doing great, and talking it down does not help our
situation and our country. I think we do need to be positive and talk
about how things are going great.
I speak to a lot of school groups, and they will often ask me what is
the difference between Democrats and Republicans, and I generally give
them several things to think about. But as my colleague pointed out,
the biggest difference between Democrats and Republicans is we believe
that the public knows how to spend its money better than the government
knows how to spend their money. That is sort of a short definition. If
we left it up to the Democrats, they would basically be taking all the
money from everybody and giving it to government bureaucrats to spend.
I think the whole issue of family friendly taxes is very important
too. We are not a party of extremely wealthy people, as we are
portrayed to be. In fact, there is a lot more wealth on the other side
than there is on our side, but they do a pretty good job of trying to
hide that.
I want to talk about some specific numbers also, in addition to
talking about in general terms some things that may have already been
said by some of my colleagues. I have been out meeting with
constituents, so I am not sure of all the things that were said, and I
hope I do not repeat too many of the same things.
I think it is important to talk about the fact that our unemployment
rate right now is 4.7 percent, the lowest monthly rate since 2001, and
lower than the averages of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Just today I was talking to a man with a very large business down in
North Carolina in the fifth district, and he was saying they could grow
their business by 300 or 400 people if they could get the skilled
workers that they need to grow that business. That is a very
significant point for us. Our economy could be doing even better, but
we do lack skilled folks. I talked with him and I will be working with
the community college system down there to try to help him get the
programs established that he needs so that they can get people with the
backgrounds that they need.
I am not sure if Congresswoman Drake mentioned this, but real
household net worth right now is $51.1 trillion, an all-time high in
this country. Our GDP, of course, is growing at a much higher rate than
anybody thought it was going to grow. The fourth quarter grew at 1.6
percent, and the estimate had been 1.1 percent. This encouraging
economic news is proof that lower taxes plus restrained Federal
spending equals economic growth.
That is a math equation that the Democrats just cannot seem to grasp.
Maybe it is because they keep trying to substitute new variables and it
just does not work. Taxing plus spending will never equal economic
growth and prosperity. But the Republican formula of lower taxes and
restrained Federal spending will always come out in favor of the
American taxpayer and his checkbook, and that is what we need to be
concentrating on.
I am going to throw out a few more facts to go along with what we are
trying to do through the Truth Squad. We have got high consumer
confidence these days, too. It rose to 106.3 in January, the highest
level in over 3 years. So we are doing our best to make sure people
know the economy is doing well and to raise consumer confidence.
We know that incomes rose in December, and we are up 1.4 percent in
2005. Again, very, very good news. Retail sales rose in December. We
are up 6.4 percent in 2005 over 2004. Our manufacturing continues to
expand. Manufacturing activity grew for the 32nd consecutive month in
January. There is tremendous expansion out there, so we want that to
continue to grow.
Construction spending is at an all-time high. Construction spending
rose 1 percent in the month of December alone. For 2005, spending
reached a record $1.120 trillion, an increase of 8.9 percent over the
previous record set in 2004. Housing starts continue to go up.
So our economy is doing very well, and, again, it is based on the
fact that Republicans believe in lower taxes and leaving more money in
the pockets of American families. That is the way we can grow the
economy. I hate hearing the words ``government investment.'' The
government never invests. It spends.
We have to get people to understand the language. As my colleagues
know, language is a very important thing to us. How we use words is
important because it gets people's minds set about what those words
mean. We need to stop government spending, and we need to leave as much
money as possible in the hands of the American taxpayers. We need to
keep this economy growing vitally, and the way to do that is to keep
Republicans in charge.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I will yield back to the gentleman from
Georgia.
Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Congresswoman Foxx, thank you so very, very
much for coming and joining us today and really painting a wonderful
picture.
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if you heard all of the items that
Congresswoman Foxx ticked off there, but this is positive news. This is
great news. This is good, good news.
Consumer confidence increasing, incomes up across the Nation, average
real after-tax income per person has risen 7.9 percent, retail sales
increased, manufacturing continues to expand, durable goods orders on
the rise, new orders for durable goods increased 1.3 percent in
December with new orders for machinery rising 6.5 percent, the highest
level since the series began tracking that in 1992. That is good news.
Productivity growth is strong. Productivity increased 2.3 percent and
has grown 3.2 percent, at that annual rate, since the end of 2000. That
is good news. Construction rates up; all-time high. Again, remarkable.
Remarkably good news.
And that is what the Official Truth Squad is all about, coming to the
floor to give honesty to the debate. Truthful numbers. Real numbers.
Because it is important that people have that in order to make
decisions.
Something that has been alluded to a number of times as we have had
our discussion here today is the effect of tax decreases. I call them
fair tax decreases. Some people call them tax cuts, I guess. I call
them fair tax decreases. And what they will say is, we cannot have any
more tax cuts. We cannot have any more tax decreases or even keep what
we have. That is what the other side says, we cannot allow you to keep
your money because government needs it. That is the way the line goes.
But what is the effect of tax decreases? What is the effect from an
economic standpoint? Well, again, a picture paints it better than
anything I could ever say. Down here is the year 2000 all the way to
2005. The vertical line there, the vertical dotted green line is when
the tax decreases, the Jobs and Growth Act, went into effect. And the
red line is revenue coming in to the government, how much money the
government is receiving based upon the taxes.
Again, remember, revenue going down here from 2000 to 2003,
decreasing money coming into the government. So what do the President
and the Republican Congress do? Well, they decrease taxes. A fair tax
decrease. That is what happened here. Then what happens? Revenue
increases. Money coming into the government increases.
That seems counterintuitive, but that is what happens. President
Kennedy knew that. That is what happened when he had his tax decreases.
President Reagan knew that. That is what happened when he instituted
his tax decreases. And what happened with President Bush's tax
decrease? Same thing.
You would think there was a trend there, Mr. Speaker. You would think
that, in fact, if you decreased taxes, you would increase governmental
revenue. Well, that is the secret. That is what happens. And why does
that happen? Because as we have talked about, the economy flourishes.
The economy flourishes when you put more of the people's money in their
back pocket and in their purses, and not in the government's purse.
What happens is that the economy flourishes.
Now, I mentioned a little earlier that we in Washington, that
government does not have a revenue problem. It has enough revenue. That
is clear. It has a spending problem. So Congress is trying as hard as
it can to decrease the amount of spending. And it is a difficult thing
to do in this environment
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where you have the distortion and the misinformation and the
disinformation and the incredible personal attacks that are given. So
it is a difficult thing to do.
But all last year what we tried to do is to work on what is called a
deficit reduction act, which is spending less money. Ultimately, it
took a little over a year, but in January when we came back, in early
February we passed the Deficit Reduction Act that saved, that saved
$39.8 billion. That is a good thing. That is a positive thing.
I asked my staff to see if they could get me a poster of the number
of folks on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats, that supported
a decrease in spending, which is what they say they want to do all the
time. How many folks on the other side of the aisle voted for that? And
I have that chart here somewhere. I found it. I found the poster that
has the name of every single Democrat that voted in favor of a $39.89
billion decrease in spending.
There it is. Right there. Not a one. Not a one. I point up the other
charts because, as I say, they are truthful. This is truthful. This is
the slate of individuals on the other side of the aisle who are
interested truly in stepping up to the plate and working hard together.
Because these are not Republican problems, and they are not Democrat
problems. But, Mr. Speaker, when only one party is interested in
working positively, it gets pretty doggone hard to do something here.
It really does.
So those are the folks willing to help us on the other side in terms
of decreasing spending. So that is what the Official Truth Squad is all
about, bringing appropriate, honest, truthful information to the
American people. And we get terribly frustrated, as I mentioned, with
what has been described as the politics of division. Many people
practice it here in Washington. It is kind of tried-and-true; but,
again, it does not get to the right answers. It does not help. It has
been used for a long time, but it is not positive, it is not a
productive activity, and it does not serve people well back home.
One gentleman who knew that well was Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln
knew that the politics of division are destructive, and he talked about
it in a way that I think is more eloquent than anybody has ever said.
What he said was: ``You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging
thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You
cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot
encourage the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You
cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot build character
and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. And you
cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could do for
themselves.''
Remarkable words from one of the pillars in our Nation's history. It
kind of crystallizes the American philosophy. It puts it better than,
frankly, I have ever heard it.
So what the Official Truth Squad is all about, Mr. Speaker, is
bringing truth and enlightening information to the American people and
trying to give them a little alternative to what they oftentimes hear
coming out of Washington. We try to make sure there is a positive tilt
to it, because we live in the greatest Nation on the face of the Earth.
We live in a glorious and wondrous Nation. It is a Nation that still is
seen by men and women around the world as a beacon of liberty and a
repository of hope.
I am so honored and proud to serve in the United States House of
Representatives and to have the opportunity to share a positive
perspective and a positive vision with my colleagues and with the
American people.
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