[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 21145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       GOOD NEWS FOR THE ECONOMY

  (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, good morning. I have got some good news. 
Perhaps a lot of the Members do not know about it. There has been a CBO 
update. The economy now seems poised for a more sustained recovery with 
CBO estimating growth of nearly 4 percent in the year 2004.
  Because of that growth, moreover, the recent surge in Federal budget 
deficits will peak in the year 2004. That is right. If growth 
continues, even at the CBO estimated 3.3 percent a year from the year 
2005 to 2008, Federal revenues will begin to rise again and deficits 
will fall through the rest of the decade just as they always do amid 
prosperity.
  What this tells us, Mr. Speaker, is that President Bush's decision to 
use fiscal policy, tax cuts, to promote growth has been the right 
priority, and it seems to be paying off now in accelerating business 
purchases. This is crucial to restoring vibrant growth because the 
economy has to survive and has had so much trouble with the burst in 
the stock market. This is also one of the explicit goals of President 
Bush's dividend and marginal income tax rate cut proposals.
  Mr. Speaker, this is good news. No guarantee but good news for today.

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