[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 136 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
                      AMERICANS LIVING IN POVERTY

  (Mr. MORAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MORAN. Madam Speaker, today we learned that 46 million Americans 
are living in poverty. More people are suffering economically than at 
any time since the Great Depression. But we learned from an excellent 
article by Scott Lilly of the Center for American Progress that history 
may be repeating itself.
  In 1937, conservative Republicans succeeded in virtually eliminating 
the Federal jobs programs of the New Deal, so as to eliminate the 
Federal deficit. But the results were catastrophic to America's economy 
and society. Half of the 8 million jobs that had been created by the 
New Deal were lost, and unemployment went over 19 percent.
  Economists generally classified the economic reversal in 1937 and 
1938 as a second depression. Not until military spending began to 
revive activity in 1940 did unemployment again drop to less than 15 
percent.
  That was a long and painful experience. It would be tragic if we 
permitted the new conservative crowd in Washington to repeat it by 
killing President Obama's jobs act and sending us back into a double-
dip recession.
  Those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

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