[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H7864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REPUBLICAN FAILURES ON THE ECONOMY--AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD MORE OF THE 
                                  SAME

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, Americans everywhere are feeling the pain of 
8 years of Republican economic policies. Since President Bush took 
office in 2001, American taxpayers have witnessed the largest increase 
in spending under any President since the Great Depression. Thanks to a 
tax policy that has overwhelmingly favored the wealthiest 1 percent, 
President Bush has been forced to borrow more money from foreign 
nations like China and Japan than all 42 of his predecessors combined. 
Through their recklessness, the Republicans turned a healthy budget 
surplus left by President Clinton into one of the most dismal economic 
records in history.
  Last week we had another reminder that the Bush economy is not 
producing any new jobs. In the year 2000, the Clinton economic plan 
created 1.4 million jobs in the first 8 months of that year. During the 
same period of this year, President Bush's policies have led to our 
economy losing over 600,000 jobs.
  Middle class workers in my State of New Jersey and around the Nation 
are not only worried about job security, they are concerned about how 
to get by, when the median household income has fallen by $1,000 since 
President Bush took office.
  We must change and turn this around.

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