[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 66 (Thursday, April 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2531-S2533]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Mr. COATS. Mr. President, today's announcement by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis that our economy grew, once again, an anemic rate of
0.5 percent during the first quarter of the year is more than
discouraging but not surprising. Whether it is burdensome regulations,
whether it is a broken Tax Code, or whether it is a continued plunge
into national debt, the Obama administration's policies have been and
will continue to be a deadweight on our economy.
The President continues to make big promises and insists his policies
are effective, but the facts speak for themselves. Under President
Obama, the median household income has decreased during his presidency
and remains 6.5 percent below its prerecession level. If this were an
average post-1960s recovery, individuals would have nearly $2,700 more
in their wallets. Instead, they have received a decrease of $3,000 per
year in their income. This is unacceptable.
While the President continues to say the economy is improving, it is
clearly not reaching its potential or anywhere close to its potential.
At some point, you have to acknowledge the policies aren't working.
Here we are 8 years from the beginning of the recession, and the
president in the White House insists that his policies are working:
Hang in there with us, folks. Things are going to get better.
Then these statistics come out that things are not only not getting
better, but are getting worse. We are not only not moving closer to the
average level of recovery after a major recession, but we are moving
further and further away from it.
Our current annual growth rate in this recovery is less than 2
percent. In 2016, with this quarter's report, we are off to a very weak
start. But if this were an average recovery, we would be seeing an
annual growth rate of somewhere around 3\1/2\ to 4 percent.
I served previously in Congress in the Reagan years, and the growth
rate during the Reagan recovery was 4.5 percent, which is well more
than double what it is today. I have seen firsthand how pro-growth
policies turn a dismal economic situation around, but I haven't seen it
here in Washington under President Obama. Where I have seen it is in my
home State of Indiana.
In 2005, under the policies of a Democratic administration, which
clearly weren't working, Indiana faced a $200 million deficit, and our
State had not balanced its budget for 7 years, even though the State
constitution requires that we do that.
Under the leadership of former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels and
current Governor Mike Pence, Indiana has reduced spending, cut taxes,
and paid off its debt. As a result, instead of a $200 million deficit,
we have a $2 billion surplus today. We enjoy a triple-A credit rating
from all the credit rating agencies, and we have been listed in index
after index as the State to go live thanks to our low taxes and because
we are business friendly, family friendly, and tax friendly.
The contrast between this body and the State that I represent is
dramatic because of the differences in our policies. By the numbers and
indexes, it is clear that this Federal economy under the policies of
this administration is simply not making any progress. I think we see
that playing out in the upcoming election for the next President. It
has become a major campaign issue, and we hear both parties talking
about it.
Over the past 2 years, in Indiana, private employment has grown by
nearly 130,000 jobs, reflecting the results and success of Indiana's
pro-growth policy. Employers are taking notice of our healthy business
climate and coming into the State to establish new businesses. I think
the resurgence of growth is proof that sound economic policy works.
I have seen how it works in Indiana, and I am simply not willing to
accept the stagnant rate of growth here without trying to do something
about it. I don't think anything is going to change since there is no
indication from the White House or even from our colleagues across the
aisle here that they are willing to at least debate this issue and put
the policies that bring about economic growth into place.
In order to boost economic growth, we need to reverse the failed
policies of this administration by overhauling our Tax Code, strip away
unnecessary government regulations, give employers the certainty they
need in order to grow their businesses and create jobs, follow the lead
of States like Indiana, Ohio, and others that have turned their
economies around and bring the prosperity to the people of those
States.
Congress can take action to encourage our economy to grow, but we
need a partner in the White House willing to cut the redtape, willing
to enact pro-growth reforms and put in place a real plan to reduce the
debt.
I hope I don't have to come down here to discuss another quarter of
anemic rate of growth. The American people simply pay the bills, pay
the mortgage, send the kids to college, and put aside money for the
future. That is not happening, and it needs to change. Hopefully, we
can take a lesson from what we have learned on these quarterly
reports--that the policies in place are simply not doing the job.
With that, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I am glad to see that my good friend
from Indiana was on the floor talking about an important issue that the
administration certainly won't talk about. To be honest, not many
Members of this body talk about it nearly enough. As my colleague from
Indiana mentioned this morning, the U.S. Commerce Department came out
with some big news. They said that the U.S. economy grew at 0.5 percent
GDP growth the first quarter of 2016. That is one-half of 1 percent.
That is a horrible number.
I am going to make a prediction. I don't think anybody in the media,
if they are still up there, is going to talk about this issue. Nobody
talks about this issue. In the old days, it didn't matter if there was
a Republican or a Democratic administration. If the U.S. economy was
growing at 0.5 percent GDP--which essentially means it is not growing
but has instead stopped--then almost certainly the Secretary of the
Treasury would come out and say: Don't worry, America. We have this; we
have a plan.
We know that 0.5 percent GDP growth is horrible for everybody,
especially working-class families. At the very least the Secretary of
Commerce would have come out and said: We know you are hurting,
America, but don't worry. We have a plan. In previous administrations,
that is what would have happened, and it wouldn't matter if the
President was a Democrat or a Republican.
But I don't think we heard a peep out of this administration this
morning. We have not heard from the President, the Secretary of the
Treasury, or the Commerce Secretary. Nobody came out and spoke, and
don't count on it. I don't think they will be talking about this
number. They even seem to be satisfied with this number--0.5 percent
GDP growth. They certainly don't want the American people talking about
it because this is not a good number.
This is a really important issue for our country. This is an
important issue for every single American, and yet we have an
administration that doesn't want to talk about this issue because it is
a big problem for them. It is a big problem for all of us. We can't
grow the U.S. economy.
Some of my colleagues have come down to the Senate floor often to
talk about what they view as moral imperatives. I respect everybody in
this body, but there is a lot of talk about moral imperatives and
nobody talks about this issue as a moral imperative. In my
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view, growing the economy and providing opportunities for Americans has
to be the No. 1 moral imperative of this body and of the Federal
Government. We should be talking about it, but we are not, and one of
the reasons we are not talking about it is because there is no doubt
that the Federal Government--the Obama administration--is failing the
American people in this regard by any serious measure. This is not a
debatable topic.
The Obama administration's record on economic growth has been one of
the worst in U.S. history. Let's take a look at this chart. Is it any
wonder why the President or Secretary of the Treasury didn't come out
and talk about these numbers this morning? The numbers are abysmal, and
they are their numbers. Remarkably, when the President does talk about
the economy, he has taken to bragging about the U.S. economy because we
are doing better than Europe. Look at the press. When the President
talks about the economy, he talks about how we are doing better than
Europe. After today's news, he won't even be able to brag about that
because 0.5 percent GDP growth is not better than Europe. If the
President is actually comparing his record to another country, he needs
to remember that the only country that matters is America. That is the
only measure he should be looking at--not Europe, not Japan, and not
Brazil. He should be looking at our country.
How has he done historically relative to every other President--
Democrat or Republican? If we take a look at this chart, we can see the
answer. These are facts. We are not debating anything. These are just
the numbers. Real GDP growth, as I mentioned, is 0.5 percent growth
this quarter. But if you look at some history here, from 1790 to 2014,
the average real GDP growth for the United States has averaged about
3.7 percent. That includes Democrats and Republicans over 200-plus
years. That is what made us great. Historically, we have had almost 4
percent GDP growth. That is what made the United States great.
I keep talking about GDP growth, but in essence, gross domestic
product is an indicator of the economic health of our economy and how
it is growing. It is an indicator that measures the opportunities that
exist in the United States.
Like I said, we had almost 4 percent growth throughout American
history. The President's numbers in the last 7\1/2\ years: 1.36 percent
GDP growth. Here we see it on the chart. This is Kennedy, Johnson,
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and President
Obama.
The red line is important. That is 3 percent GDP growth. That is
considered pretty good--not great but pretty good. Take a look.
President Obama has never hit that. He has never actually hit that in
one quarter, ever. By any measure, these numbers are abysmal.
So what are we looking at? The Obama era has been a lost decade of
growth. Again, compared to any other period, even the Great Depression
period, these numbers represent lost opportunity, stagnant wages, and
middle-class families struggling. Yet the administration never talks
about it.
If we can't grow our economy, who is hurt the most? It is the most
vulnerable. It is the working poor. It is the elderly. It is the young
people. It is our pages right here who want a positive future. These
are the people who are hurt. Yet if we grow our economy--if we got to
Reagan levels or Clinton levels or Johnson levels of 4, 4.5, 6--we
could take care of so many of the challenges our country faces.
So what has happened is--and we know the media certainly helps the
administration deal with this--we don't talk about it. The President
might compare our economy to Europe. That is pretty weak. Instead, we
define the problem down. Many people may have heard this term, ``the
new normal.'' That is a term they are now using in Washington, ``the
new normal.'' So what does that mean? It means we can't grow at 3
percent anymore. Look at the chart. We have never hit 3 percent, ever.
So let's just define it now. We are not going to shoot for traditional
levels of robust American growth like 4 percent. Again, the historic
average is 3.7 percent, for 200 years, Democrats and Republicans. We
are just going to say: Well, it is a new time in the history of our
country--secular stagnation. This is the new normal.
If Americans believe this or accept this or our young people do, we
are in big trouble.
So we talk about the new normal or we are silent, like what happened
today. No one came out--not one person from the Obama administration
explained how we are going to get out of this rut. They are silent
because there is no way to sell 0.5 percent GDP growth--to anybody. The
American people are smart, and they know they are being sold a clunker.
The economy is a clunker right now, and it has been one for almost 8
years.
Again, it is important to understand just how bad this record is, in
terms of U.S. history. Let me give a few more statistics. In 85 years,
for which the Bureau of Economic Analysis has calculated the annual
change in real GDP, there is only one 10-year stretch, and it is right
here--the entire Obama administration--when the annual GDP growth never
hit 3 percent. Even during the Great Depression, it was only a 4-year
stretch. So 10 years, starting with the Bush-era recession. The
President talks about the recession, but that was almost 8 years ago.
We need to get over that and grow this economy.
During the last 10 years, real annual growth of GDP peaked in 2006 at
2.7 percent. It has never been that high again. In the 25 quarters
since the recession ended, real GDP growth has totaled just 14.3
percent. So that is what we grew our economy by--the total growth of
our economy. In comparison, other recoveries--again, Democrat,
Republican--since 1960, that lasted much more than a year, real GDP
growth for the whole economy grew on average of 27 percent. So we have
14 percent Obama, 27 percent over the comparable period for the
average--Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan. If real GDP
growth in the Obama years had grown at that average, our GDP would be
$1.8 trillion higher. Think about that--$1.8 trillion, almost $2
trillion higher. Think about what families could do with that kind of
money if we divided that by American families.
In the Reagan recovery, real GDP growth grew a total of 34 percent.
The economy expanded by 34 percent. So, again, Obama, 14 percent;
average, 27 percent; Reagan, 34 percent. He grew it at an average rate,
and the economy grew at about 4.8 percent, so almost 5 percent GDP
growth. Look at the comparison here. If the 8 years of President Obama
grew at the rate that President Reagan's recovery took place, we would
be seeing almost $3 trillion more in terms of the size of our economy,
higher annual aftertax income of almost $5,000 per American, and of
course millions and millions of more jobs.
The President talks about the unemployment rate going down, but what
he doesn't talk about is the reason it is going down is because people
are leaving the workforce. We have the highest rate since the mid-1970s
of workforce participation. Why? Because we are not growing the
economy.
I know I am throwing a lot of numbers out, but what this chart
reveals is something much more important than numbers. This chart goes
to what the American dream is all about; that is, progress. That is
progress. When you are an American, you expect progress. You expect
growth. You don't expect this. This is not progress. We are hearing it
and we are seeing it.
The American dream was founded on progress. There is opportunity. You
have the opportunity to take advantage and move up the ladder.
A recent poll came out and said 13 percent of Americans--13 percent--
think their kids are going to have a better economic future than they
had. That is the death of the American dream, and this chart explains
why. The young people right here, through hard work--only 13 percent of
Americans think you are going to have a better future than we had.
That is the essence of the American dream. We all used to think our
kids would have a better future. Now 13 percent do. It shows that
people are losing faith in the American dream because of these numbers.
It gets worse in terms of the unequal growth. I was talking about
1.36 percent is the average growth rate for the Obama administration.
In actuality, about 20 percent of the population in
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regions of the country--mostly on the east and west coasts--are doing
pretty good. Twenty percent are growing at about 5 percent GDP growth.
Eighty percent of America--the rest of the country--is not growing at
all--zero growth.
I believe this is a surrender. I believe this body is not talking
about it enough. The White House wants to ignore it. It is a surrender
of America's greatness. It is a surrender of our future. It is a
surrender of our kids' future.
We need to do something about it. If we stay at these levels of
growth, issues like infrastructure, issues like military spending,
issues like social spending, even social cohesion are going to be much
harder to address, but if we grow--back to traditional levels of
American growth--the future is going to be bright again like it has
been for 200-plus years in the United States.
We don't have to continue down this path. We can make decisions in
this body--the right decisions--in order to right this sinking ship of
an economy, but the first step is to admit we have a problem. The first
step is to recognize we have a big problem.
The President and his Cabinet will not do this. As a matter of fact,
there was a recent New York Times article where the President was
talking about how this is actually pretty good growth--again, dumbing
down expectations, the new normal. Did they say anything today? No. But
the American people know we have a huge problem. We see it reflected in
polling and our politics with people losing work, stagnant wages,
historic levels of failed businesses. More small businesses are failing
now.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for 2 more
minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, we need to realize that what we are
doing here is part of the problem. Look at this chart. We are
overregulating every aspect of our economy. What we need to do is start
focusing on ways that Washington can be a partner in opportunity, not
the center of regulations that focus on small businesses.
Let me conclude by saying, although I have highlighted the challenges
we have right now and the lack of focus by the administration, this is
something all of us in this body--Democrats and Republicans--should be
working on together. Nobody wants 1.36 percent GDP growth. Nobody wants
0.5 percent GDP growth. We need leadership now to tackle these
challenges and to get America back on track. We have to grow this
economy. We have to continue progress. We must do better for our
children and restore the American dream, but first we need a White
House that recognizes the problem. Unfortunately, today we saw that is
not the case.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
____________________