[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 11230]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 STATISTICS ON THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY

  (Ms. PRYCE of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a few statistics 
on the state of the economy.
  America's economy grew at its fastest quarterly rate in 20 years, a 
positively sizzling 8.2 percent. Manufacturing activities have risen to 
their highest level in nearly 2 decades. Worker productivity is near a 
20-year high. More folks than ever before own their own homes. 
Inflation, interest rates, and mortgage rates are near historic lows. 
Last month marked the ninth consecutive month of increased employment. 
The jobless rate is below the average for the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 
1990s.
  But one American out of work is one too many. So today, we will try 
to empower those who want to work by creating personal reemployment 
accounts to give these folks the help and the incentives they need to 
find jobs. Real help for real families, that is what this Republican-
led Congress is all about.

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