[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE ECONOMY IS UNRAVELING

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, 55,000 Americans lost their jobs 
yesterday. Nine thousand five hundred jobs were lost at the drug 
company Pfizer. They didn't have $4 billion to keep 9,500 employees, 
but they had $68 billion to buy another drug company, Wyeth, with the 
help of four banks, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank 
of America, which have collectively received $238 billion in bailout 
monies and loan guarantees.
  Using bailout funds for mergers and acquisitions which result in the 
loss of jobs is nothing new. The Treasury Department gave PNC $5.2 
billion in bailout funds, which PNC promptly used to take over National 
City Bank in Cleveland, my hometown, putting at least 7,800 jobs at 
risk.
  Today, as Congress takes up an economic stimulus package, we are in a 
race to try to create jobs to stimulate the economy while corporations 
are getting bailout funds and cutting jobs. The economy is unraveling. 
We clearly cannot rely on the private sector to create jobs. When the 
private sector cuts jobs, and we are approaching unemployment levels of 
10 percent in some States, then it's the duty of government to create 
jobs.
  The stimulus package is a first step, but only a first step.

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