[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20961-20962]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise today to express my concern over the 
current state of the economy. Too many working Americans are confronted 
with difficult financial situations due to the slowdown in the economy. 
I continue to believe in economic education and financial literacy as a 
major part of the solution for people to improve their unique 
situations. However, such efforts cannot truly succeed without sound 
fiscal policies to keep our economy strong. Many American families are 
having difficulties making ends meet. Over two million jobs have been 
lost since January 2001. The unemployment rate for September was 5.6 
percent, an increase from the 3.9 percent unemployment rate in 
September and October of 2000. Home foreclosures are occurring at the 
fastest rate in thirty years and others are falling behind on their 
payments. Health care costs have increased rapidly. As a result, many 
are paying substantially more for their insurance coverage. Rising 
prescription drug costs have made it costly to obtain necessary 
medication, particularly for seniors.
  I agree with the Majority Leader in his prescription for the sick 
economy. Unemployment insurance must be extended to help those who are 
still struggling to find work in these tough economic times. An 
estimated 1.5 million people exhausted their Federal extended 
unemployment benefits by the end of September. The total for the end of 
the year is expected to rise to 2.2 million individuals.
  The minimum wage needs to be increased. Since establishing the 
minimum wage requirement in 1938, we have had only 19 increases in the 
minimum wage. The latest occurred in September 1997. The earnings of 
average Americans have grown little, and the overall distribution of 
income has become increasingly unequal. The real value of the minimum 
wage has fallen by 11 percent since the last increase. Currently, a 
minimum wage employee working full time earns about $4,000 below the 
poverty line for a family of three. We need to increase the minimum 
wage to help those millions of Americans earning the minimum wage who 
are rapidly becoming a permanent underclass in our society.
  The savings of Americans have been ravaged in the last few years. The 
reduction in the value of retirement accounts is particularly troubling 
because Americans will have a harder time achieving the goal of a 
comfortable retirement. Over $210 billion in 401(k) and other defined 
contribution plans was lost in 2001. Individual Retirement Accounts 
lost over $230 billion in 2001.
  Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and other criminally managed companies have 
shaken the markets after the accounting scandals and disclosure of 
corporate misdeeds. We need the Securities and Exchange Commission to 
be aggressive in its pursuit of fraud and corporate malfeasance.
  Without trust, our markets and economy cannot effectively function. 
The Sarbanes corporate accountability legislation that passed this 
summer will help provide additional safeguards for investors. With the 
recent addition of the new Securities and Exchange Commissioners, I 
look forward to the development of the Public Company Accounting 
Oversight Board. It is my hope that the organization will become a 
friend and advocate for the investor--not the accounting industry. The 
corporate accountability bill must be strongly enforced. In addition, 
pension protection legislation needs to be enacted to empower workers 
to make it easier for them to sell company stock and to make their 
investments more secure.
  It is troubling that revenues have declined when there are so many 
domestic and defense needs. The 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut, which 
was enacted in June 2001, has contributed to a rapid surge in the size 
of the Federal budget deficit. The FY 2002 budget deficit is now 
estimated to be $157 billion, according to the Congressional Budget 
Office's monthly budget review. Gone are the years of budget surpluses. 
Although some of this can be attributed to necessary spending for 
national security in the wake of September 11, 2001, we cannot ignore 
the overall impact of last year's tax cut package. We must reexamine 
the tax cuts that have yet to take effect. The tax cuts were enacted at 
a time when the economy appeared stronger, there was a Federal budget 
surplus, and the tragic events of September 11 had not yet occurred. 
Now, fiscal responsibility requires all options to be on the table, 
such as postponing or canceling specific upper income tax cuts. I know 
that some of my colleagues share my concerns, and I look forward to 
working with them on this issue.
  The American people will pay a large price for the tax cuts that 
generally are for the wealthiest Americans. When fully implemented, the 
tax cuts will give more tax breaks to the top one percent of taxpayers 
than to the combined total of the bottom 80 percent. It will be 
extremely difficult to pay down the public debt, which at the end of FY 
2002 was estimated to be $3.6 trillion. It also will be difficult to 
provide a meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors, 
and to adequately fund education and other vital programs and services.
  Unfortunately, there are those who want to further compound our 
fiscal crisis by making the tax cuts permanent. Responsible fiscal 
policy is needed, or possible adverse effects, such as increasing 
interest rates, may further weaken the economy. Prior to the enactment 
of the tax cuts, the public debt was expected to be eliminated by 2009. 
This is no longer true. Future generations of taxpayers will be stuck 
paying the bill for these current tax cuts, and the picture would look 
even worse if the cuts are made permanent.
  As a former classroom teacher and principal, I would like to say 
another word about education, which is one of the most important 
responsibilities we have regarding our children and our nation's 
future. The No Child Left Behind Act became law in January of this 
year. This sweeping reform of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act places before our schools dramatic mandates that they improve 
student performance or face tough consequences. The FY 2003 budget 
request, rather than including the funding needed to properly implement 
changes in the Act, requested the smallest increase in education 
spending in seven years. Furthermore, the budget request included 
education cuts of $1.76 billion, which would eliminate 40 programs and 
cut an additional 16. I am thankful to my colleagues on the Senate 
Appropriations Committee for restoring much of this funding. Going 
forward, we must continue to use fiscal restraint, but we must balance 
this with the need to invest in critical priorities.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues on initiatives to 
encourage job growth, provide assistance for workers who have lost 
their jobs, and help alleviate the economic strain that has impacted 
most Americans. I urge all of my colleagues to add their energies to 
these efforts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, my understanding is that the Senator from 
Nevada is going to propound a unanimous consent request. I will yield 
to him for that purpose and ask unanimous consent that I be recognized 
immediately thereafter.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Nevada is recognized.

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