[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE PRESIDENT'S CREDIBILITY DEFICIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, President Bush has announced that his 
campaign strategy will be to make credibility an issue. Just last 
night, the Vice President said that if the Democrats had been in charge 
for the last 2 or 3 years we would have endangered the job creation of 
the economy.
  Really? What a fascinating take, that Democrats would have endangered 
the job creation and the economy. Under this administration, $3 
trillion has been added to the Nation's debt, and nearly 3 million 
American jobs have disappeared. And they want to make credibility an 
election year issue?
  In the ``Meet the Press'' interview, the President could have talked 
about his foreign policy accomplishments and his record, but what does 
he have to offer but an endless occupation. He could have chosen to 
talk about the economy and the jobs he created, but then he would have 
to point to the jobless economy and the wage recession Americans face. 
And this is a President and an administration that wants to make 
credibility an issue in this campaign?
  The administration announced 5 months ago, on Labor Day, that they 
were appointing a manufacturing czar. That position remains empty. 
There is not even a nominee. And they want to make credibility an 
issue? Interesting.
  Since that date, 250,000 Americans have lost their manufacturing 
jobs. And they want to make credibility an issue? After 5 months, there 
is not a single person to fill that job.
  Now, the President does not take advice from me, but as far as I can 
see David Kay is available. He did the weapons of mass destruction 
research. Maybe we can help him find where the 2.7 million American 
jobs have gone. And they had the gall to announce it under a banner of 
American jobs and American values. And they want to make credibility an 
issue?
  Every year the President submits a budget, and he has submitted time 
and again the elimination of the Manufacturing Extension Program, which 
helps small businesses, small manufacturers in this country. And he 
wants to make credibility an issue?
  Not only is the President not interested in the issue of jobs and job 
creation in the United States, his own economic report that he 
submitted the other day to Congress say that ``outsourcing of jobs is 
good for the American economy and good for the middle class,'' 
especially the middle class in India, not Indiana. And they want to 
make credibility an issue?
  In that report, they envisioned 2.7 million jobs being created in the 
United States. Then they had to walk away from it. And they want to 
make credibility an issue?
  They also in that report cited manufacturing would now be defined as 
flipping hamburgers. And, again, they would like to make credibility an 
issue.
  Since we have decided to make credibility an issue, I would like to 
say that not only does this administration have a big fiscal deficit; 
it has a huge credibility deficit.
  Let me give some other highlights of the issue of credibility.
  One month steel tariffs are on; the next month steel tariffs are off. 
There was $3.5 billion in new police funding, and yet the President's 
budget cuts $1 billion from the police funding. Prescription drugs one 
month cost $400 billion, the next month, with nothing changed, not a 
single benefit, we send a bill to the taxpayers for $550 billion. And 
they want to make credibility an issue.
  Now, I am not the one to give advice to this administration, or 
unsolicited advice; but if the President or this administration thinks 
we are going to cut Social Security to pay for tax cuts for the 
wealthy, I got a bridge over the Tigress they can buy. Let me say this: 
the only people that think that is a good economic plan are pioneers 
and rangers who think cuts in Social Security is what this economy 
needs so we can pay for tax cuts for the well-off.
  What we need is a President who wakes up every day and who rolls up 
his sleeves as he goes into the Oval Office and thinks about the 
American workers, their families, and their values, not somebody who, 
for a press headline, announces a manufacturing czar and 5 months 
later, 250,000 jobs later that have disappeared, has that position 
remaining unfilled. That is not an administration that every day sees 
the American family and its values at the center of what it does in the 
Oval Office.
  I only wish that they would spend as much time thinking about the 
American family, their values, their children, their jobs, their health 
care, their security, and their retirement security as the focus they 
give to those on K Street and the lobbyists in this town.
  On policy after policy this administration says one thing and they do 
another, and yet they have the gall to say credibility will be an 
issue.
  So to quote one Senator: If they would like credibility to be an 
issue this election year, Democrats say, bring it on.

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