[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 149 (Thursday, September 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on the front page of every newspaper in 
towns and cities throughout the country, Americans are reading stories 
about our economy and they are looking for answers. They are looking 
for leadership. They are looking for a sign that everything is going to 
be OK--or, at the very least, a sign that their elected officials are 
committed to fixing the problem.
  I know that, in Kentucky, it is not the hard work that bothers them. 
They have always held up their end of the bargain. It is what they 
can't control that makes them nervous. They want to know that their 
pensions, their savings, and their families are going to be OK. They 
want to be reassured that the investments taxpayers made this week were 
the right thing to do.
  Considering what the American people have seen from some of our 
colleagues on the Senate floor this week, I understand their 
nervousness. Instead of working to ease the anxiety Americans are 
feeling about the economy, some are using the anxiety to continue their 
everlasting campaign. Instead of coming together to face this problem 
head-on as a country, some colleagues have taken to the Senate floor to 
blame Republicans for the bad news.
  It is little wonder why Americans hold this Congress in such low 
regard. We can all come up with a million reasons to blame someone for 
bad news, but it doesn't change the fact that we all face these 
challenges together. It is time to confront the problem rather than 
point fingers. That is the challenge for this Congress in the days 
ahead.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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