[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 10100-10101]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  THE HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND ECONOMY: WORSE OFF UNDER BUSH

  (Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I look back to the year 2000 and I 
see a different country from the one we live in today. In 2000, we 
entered a new century having enjoyed a decade of unprecedented economic 
growth. During the 1990s we got our priorities together, erased the 
Federal budget deficit, and put in place the fiscal discipline that 
created a $5.6 trillion surplus. That $5.6 trillion surplus gave us the 
ability to tackle problems and ensure the solvency of Social Security 
and Medicare.
  The election of President Bush, however, ushered in a new era of 
misguided priorities that have failed. Without a

[[Page 10101]]

doubt, our country is worse off now than it was 4 years ago. We stand 
now, this administration has taken that $5.6 trillion surplus and 
turned it into $4 trillion of red ink. Their insistence on tax cuts we 
cannot afford has starved our States, forcing them to cut countless 
services. We have lost 2.8 million jobs, most of them in manufacturing. 
Today, 44 million Americans are uninsured. We have an administration 
that cuts people from overtime pay and prohibits lifesaving stem cell 
research.
  Mr. Speaker, this administration's track record shows a derailment. 
The American people deserve a stable economy and a reliable health care 
system.

                          ____________________