[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 20, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2721-H2722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE VALUE OF THE AMERICAN SERVICE ECONOMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Klein of Florida). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, last week I spoke here in the well about our 
service economy. Accounting for nearly 80 percent of both our workforce 
and private sector gross domestic product, services actually form the 
backbone of our economy. These industries are thriving in the worldwide 
marketplace and are a major source of our global competitiveness. Our 
annual exports in services are approaching $400 billion, and we have 
long had a trade surplus in this sector of the economy.

[[Page H2722]]

  Mr. Speaker, one such source is the motion picture and television 
production industry. This industry is a thriving economic engine, 
creating well-paying jobs and economic benefits to communities all 
across America, not just in my State of California. In fact, with 
filming in 44 States, the motion picture and television production 
industry generates more than 1.3 million American jobs, $30.24 billion 
in wages to American workers and $30.2 billion in revenue every year. 
It is very competitive internationally, with a $9.5 billion trade 
surplus. And it is the only industry, Mr. Speaker, it is our only 
industry in which we actually have a trade surplus with every single 
one of our trading partners.
  Motion pictures and television production creates jobs in a wide 
range of fields, from the highly technical to the highly creative. But 
one thing they have in common is that they are largely based on the 
knowledge economy that provides the foundation for both our economic 
well-being and our comparative advantage in the global economy.
  Another major services sector is the express delivery industry, Mr. 
Speaker. This is an industry that is not only thriving in the global 
economy, but it is actually making the global economy possible. In a 
world where just-in-time delivery is essential to doing business, where 
U.S. companies, large and small, can get raw materials from Chile, make 
products in Michigan and sell them in Korea, express delivery is 
obviously a very integral part of that economy.
  Goods transported by air account for only 3 percent by weight of all 
goods traded globally, but 40 percent of value. That is 3 percent in 
weight, but 40 percent in value.
  U.S. companies that ship worldwide are helping to grow our economy as 
they facilitate the interconnectedness of the world's producers and 
consumers. For example, Mr. Speaker, every time UPS adds 40 new 
international packages into its system, it creates a new job right here 
in the United States of America. Every day, in fact, UPS carries 8 
percent of all U.S. gross domestic product and 3 percent of world 
global gross domestic product within its system. By tapping into the 
ever-growing need to ship worldwide, express delivery companies create 
new jobs here at home, facilitate economic growth around the globe and 
demonstrate that U.S. service companies are thriving in the worldwide 
marketplace.
  Mr. Speaker, the telecommunications industry is yet another example 
of American businesses that are both tapping into and facilitating a 
shrinking world that brings a globe-full of benefits and opportunities 
right to our doorstep here in the United States. U.S. telecom companies 
are extremely competitive in the global economy, with international 
revenues rising more than 12 percent in just the last year. 2006 was 
the third year in a row with double-digit growth in international 
revenue. The global telecom market is projected to reach $4.3 trillion 
by 2010. That is $1.2 trillion in the United States, but $3 trillion 
internationally.
  Clearly, the competitiveness of the U.S. industry depends upon 
worldwide economic global engagement. At the same time, these services 
are making the world more and more connected, enabling producers, 
consumers and investors to communicate quickly and easily with every 
corner of the globe. And, as we have seen, our service providers thrive 
on this increased connectiveness. As global leaders, they are 
constantly creating new opportunities, here at home and around the 
globe, as they grow our economy and make the worldwide marketplace more 
and more accessible for everyone. And they have done so at a time when 
worldwide economic liberalization in services has been very limited.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
continue on a path towards greater economic freedom so that our service 
industries, the backbone of our economy, can achieve greater and 
greater success in the global marketplace.

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