[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         BUSH BUDGET LEGACY--DEEP DEFICITS AND ECONOMIC DECLINE

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, over the last 8 years, the Bush 
administration turned our budget situation from rosy to grim. President 
Bush and the Republican Congress pushed their economic policies as an 
answer to the prolonged growth that never came. They let budget rules 
lapse and enacted expensive tax cuts for the wealthiest few, with no 
offsets.
  Now it turns out, instead of spurring long-term growth, these 
trickle-down policies have cost our Nation dearly. Our economy 
nationwide and in my home State of New Jersey is in worse shape than 
ever.
  As a result of the economic deterioration that occurred under 
President Bush's policy, the projected deficit for fiscal year 2009 has 
reached an unprecedented $1.2 trillion. This deficit did not arise 
overnight, and out of the blue. President Bush inherited a healthy $5.6 
trillion surplus.
  And so, Mr. Speaker, we need to bring our country back to fiscal 
responsibility.

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