[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18834]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     THREE TRILLION IS A BIG NUMBER

  (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, 3 trillion is a very, very big number. 
Astronomers think there may be a tenth planet 3 trillion miles from the 
earth. Astronomers are using the biggest telescopes on earth to peer 
into the darkness of space. Something out there is causing a wobble in 
passing comets 3 trillion miles away.
  But here on earth, the President's plan to spend $3 trillion over the 
next 10 years is causing a wobble in the U.S. economy and a black hole 
in the budget deficit.
  Mr. Speaker, Members do not need binoculars to see it or astronomers 
to explain it. It is not a tenth planet; it is the Republican economics 
by a Congress controlled by Republicans and the White House. At the 
rate this economy is going, the phrase ``to infinity and beyond'' will 
stand for where the deficit is going; but it is only going to go until 
the second of November.

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