[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 RECOGNIZING BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 20, 2009

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the 125th Anniversary 
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  I have the privilege of serving as the Chair of the Joint Economic 
Committee, a committee that has a unique relationship with the BLS. The 
JEC was established by the Employment Act of 1946 to study matters 
relating to the US economy, so we are indeed a much younger sibling to 
the Bureau.
  For roughly six decades, the Commissioner of the BLS has testified 
before the JEC in hearings examining the monthly Employment Situation. 
As Chair, I have welcomed Commissioner Keith Hall and his colleagues to 
the committee this year as we have closely tracked labor market 
conditions in the current recession.
  The BLS staff is a dedicated group of public servants who themselves 
do important work for our nation. The numbers they provide represent 
real people and the trends they report on provide valuable insights 
into the economic well-being of families across the country.
  I look forward to the first Friday of the month to arrive when the 
Employment Situation shows our economy has stopped shedding jobs and 
that more Americans are going back to work.
  Policy makers from both sides of the aisle rely on the high quality, 
timely and non-partisan data produced by the BLS to make informed 
decisions that affect the millions of Americans around the country.
  Too often, lawmakers fail to recognize that the data produced by BLS 
and other agencies are crucial to making meaningful, effective policy. 
But it is for that reason that I have worked to preserve funding for 
vital statistical programs at the BLS, like the American Time Use 
Survey--our most extensive source of data on how Americans are 
balancing all demands on their time, from work, to child care, to 
recreational activities.
  The JEC has fought for and will continue to fight for the funding 
that BLS needs to maintain its international reputation for quality 
data that keeps pace with our always-evolving economy. We could not 
fulfill our mission in Congress without the hard work of the BLS.
  I want to thank JEC Vice Chair Schumer, Senate Ranking Member 
Brownback, and House Ranking Member Kevin Brady for joining me in this 
bipartisan concurrent resolution, I hope all of my colleagues will join 
us in congratulating the Bureau of Labor Statistics on a job very well 
done for the last 125 years.

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