[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            ECONOMIC NUMBERS

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the third-quarter economic numbers released 
last week are worth noting. When you consider the total devastation 
inflicted on our gulf coast region, combined with the temporary spike 
in petroleum prices, the fact that our economy remains robust is a 
strong testament to our free-market policies and commitment to reducing 
the tax burden on all Americans.
  The overall growth of the economy, measured in total gross domestic 
product, was even better than expected, growing at a rate of 4.3 
percent, the 10th consecutive quarter of GDP growth above 3 percent. 
Heading into the Christmas shopping season, the consumer confidence 
index rose to 98.9 in November, up 14 points from the previous month.
  In November alone, we added 215,000 jobs to our Nation's payrolls, a 
total of more than 4.4 million new jobs added since May. These numbers, 
along with the other positive indicators, should provide strong 
incentive to us this week as we take up legislation to extend expiring 
tax cuts.

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