[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19509-19510]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRESS MUST FIX AMERICA'S ECONOMY

  (Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, as we prepare to consider authorization 
of the use of force to deal with Saddam Hussein, Congress also must 
address critical issues facing our families. Congress must act to 
improve education, reduce health care costs and protect Social Security 
and get our economy back on track.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of my home State of North Carolina are 
worried. America's families have seen the bottom fall out of Wall 
Street. As the stock market plunges, we watch billions of dollars 
evaporate from families' retirement savings. Health care costs continue 
to spiral out of control. They have risen five times the rate of 
inflation, and our families are falling farther behind, no matter how 
hard they struggle to keep up. Education is more important today than 
ever, but

[[Page 19510]]

our schools continue to suffer as Congress withholds needed funding.
  Mr. Speaker, this Congress must act to get the American economy back 
on track. We must balance the budget and pay down the national debt for 
long-term economic growth. We must protect Social Security from 
privatization schemes that would cut back and raise taxes. We must 
lower health care costs. And we must fund education so that every 
American willing to work hard can make the best of their God-given 
ability.

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