[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15178-15179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         A ``STRONG'' ECONOMY?

  (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in some 
puzzlement. The President came to my part of our State last week and 
announced, ``The economy is strong here in North Carolina.'' As the 
Raleigh News & Observer observed, ``Is the President an optimist, or 
does he need an optometrist?''
  Perhaps our economy seems strong to Mr. Bush. After all, he raked in 
over $2 million at his afternoon fundraiser. But he did not seem to 
notice that we

[[Page 15179]]

have record numbers of laid-off workers who have exhausted their 
unemployment benefits, 68,000 at last count. Our unemployment rate in 
the Raleigh-Durham area is creeping up again. The rolls grew by almost 
2,000 last month.
  We have had even heavier losses in manufacturing Statewide, where 
158,000 such jobs have disappeared since the President took office.
  President Bush's declaration of our so-called ``strong'' economy is 
simply out of touch. He is peddling the idea is that his tax cuts for 
the wealthiest 1 percent have worked miracles. But North Carolinians 
know a sluggish recovery when they see one.
  Declaring our economy strong does not make it so, and it does not put 
food on the table either. The News & Observer noted that the President 
did not take questions from local reporters. Is it any wonder why?

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