[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13627-13628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THE AMERICAN ECONOMY IS STRONG

  (Mr. CRANE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, I have noted with interest that some 
prominent Democrats have decided that part of their election strategy 
is apparently to scare the American people into believing that the 
economy is weak.
  I hate to rain on their parade, but here are some numbers: Inflation 
is at record lows; interest rates have been at record lows; real GDP 
has grown 5 percent during the last four quarters, the fastest annual 
rate in almost 20 years;

[[Page 13628]]

the unemployment rate is 5.6 percent, which is lower than the 30 year 
historical average. Real disposal personal income increased at 4.9 
percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2004.
  Mr. Speaker, it sounds to me like some of our colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle, including the presumptive nominee for President, 
have apparently failed to do their homework. I, for one, do not think 
the voters are going to be impressed by this nonsense.

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