[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 87 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H4318-H4319]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE PRESIDENT'S FAILED ECONOMIC POLICIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Griffin of Arkansas). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Flores) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
majority leader.
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, most Americans remember 1 year ago tomorrow 
President Obama and Vice President Biden launched what the White House 
enthusiastically called the ``recovery summer.'' This was supposed to 
be a 6-week-long push to highlight what the Obama administration said 
would be jobs created last summer by a surge in Federal stimulus 
spending across the country.
  Senior Adviser to the President David Axelrod said, ``This summer 
will be the most active Recovery Act season yet, with thousands of 
highly visible road, bridge, water, and other infrastructure projects 
breaking ground across the country, giving the American people a 
firsthand look at the Recovery Act in their own backyards and making it 
crystal clear what the cost would have been of doing nothing.''
  Yet, the only thing that is crystal clear to the majority of 
Americans is that there is nothing to show from the Democrats' failed 
economic policies that have set our country on a road to ruin.
  Since President Obama has taken office he has done absolutely nothing 
to promote American energy production. He has done nothing to reduce 
the regulatory burdens on small business owners. He has done nothing to 
fix the Tax Code to help job creators. He has done nothing to increase 
competitiveness for American manufacturers. And he has done nothing to 
pay down America's unsustainable debt burden and bring back confidence 
among investors and entrepreneurs by supporting long-term American 
economic growth.
  And now, President Obama is selling the sequel to last year's 
``recovery summer'' sales pitch and kicking off this summer by trying 
to convince the American people that 28 consecutive months of 
unemployment above 8 percent is just a bump in the road to recovery. In 
addition, a number of Democrats are calling for billions more in 
taxpayer dollars to be spent on yet another wasteful stimulus to create 
jobs, but Americans aren't buying it.
  Unemployment is nowhere near the 6.8 percent level at which the 
administration claimed it would be today if the stimulus was signed 
into law. When America's promise, prosperity, and security for future 
generations are at stake, this cannot be brushed off as just a bump in 
the road. It is a mountain of constraint put in place by a litany of 
failed Democrat policies and unfulfilled promises.
  And what's worse is that President Obama recently laughed off the 
fact that his stimulus projects, which are costing taxpayers trillions 
of dollars, have failed to live up to their promise to create new jobs. 
Democrats promised this would be the summer of recovery, but their 
conflicting assessment of the economy and their double-talk has left 
American families wondering: Is this a joke?
  Well, most economists and the American people are not laughing. Their 
concern is growing, and confidence in President Obama's economic 
policies is plunging more and more every day, and the idea of another 
stimulus bill is dead on arrival in the House.
  In the face of the greatest economic crisis since the Great 
Depression, this administration and the Democrats in Congress are 
choosing to play politics with economic recovery and continue with 
another round of empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises in their 
desperate sales pitch again this summer.
  House Republicans are serious about creating real American jobs, and 
we're making it our mission to put Americans back to work. We know that 
what we need are commonsense policies that will create jobs in this 
country immediately. We cannot let this administration have another 
frivolous shot at the wasteful spending of taxpayer's hard-earned 
dollars, or be given more regulatory power or allowed to spin its way 
out of the catastrophic economy the Democrats have created with empty 
phrases like ``recovery summer.''
  House Republicans have produced a pro-growth, pro-job creation 
budget, as well as a real plan for America's job creators. Both plans 
will put the Nation on a fiscally sustainable path to restore 
confidence, lower tax rates, and allow America to remain competitive in 
the global economy. We want to take the burden of regulation off of our 
job creators and produce more American energy so that Americans can 
start receiving the paychecks that they need and deserve. And we want 
to reduce the hostility of the Federal Government's regulators toward 
American business, both small and large.
  We cannot allow this out-of-touch administration to continue with 
their failed experiments and silly punchlines. We cannot allow 
Washington Democrats to tax and spend away the futures of our children 
and our grandchildren. We cannot continue down the road to ruin, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Coming from the private sector to Congress, I know that America can 
and will become prosperous beyond imagination and millions of new 
private sector jobs will be created if we would just get back to our 
founding free market principles and end big government and wasteful 
spending. It is time we take a different road this summer, Mr. Speaker. 
We cannot continue on the misguided and irresponsible path endorsed by 
the other side of the aisle of higher taxes, reckless spending, bigger 
government, explosive debt, crippling regulation, higher deficits, and 
unacceptably high unemployment.
  Eighty-one percent of Americans know somebody without a job. As a 
matter of fact, if you'd look at the unemployment rate that includes 
underemployed and unemployed, almost one out of every five Americans is 
unemployed or underemployed today. Under President Obama's watch, 
almost 40,000 jobs have been lost every 2 weeks. President Obama's so-
called stimulus was signed into law 28 months ago, and there are nearly 
2 million fewer Americans with jobs today. They have had their chance 
to make things right last summer, and it has not worked. Now it is our 
turn.

[[Page H4319]]

  These are undoubtedly tough times, and I want to continue the great 
American legacy of leaving our children better off than we ourselves 
are. It pains me to know that only 17 percent of the mothers in this 
country believe that their children will be better off in the future. 
It doesn't have to be this way. There has not been a more important 
time in our Nation's history to realign our principles and policies in 
light of current economic reality.
  As the son of a hardworking rancher in the Texas Panhandle, I always 
reflect back to those tough decisions and sacrifices that my family 
made around the kitchen table. We had no choice but to live within our 
means. Every day I remember these life lessons whether I'm balancing my 
family budget, or making important decisions for my constituents. I 
must represent the best in terms of taking care of our country's fiscal 
health.
  We must make tough decisions on spending, on tax reform, and on 
reducing our Nation's debt, and we must remain committed to spurring 
economic growth and job creation. We must do this, most importantly, 
because we owe it to our children and our grandchildren so that they're 
afforded the same American promise and prosperity and security that we 
were when we were born.
  Mr. Speaker, about 3 months ago, my wife and I had our first 
granddaughter. We want that girl when she grows up to have the same 
opportunities to live the American dream that we had when we were born.
  Mr. Speaker, before I close, I'd like to ask our American people to 
remember our country in their prayers during these difficult times and 
also to remember to pray for our military men and women who protect it 
daily.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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