[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[House]
[Page 27769]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ECONOMY NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT

  (Mrs. McCARTHY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, when I am here in Washington I hear the 
administration and the House majority brag about how great our economy 
is, but when I go home to Long Island, I hear a different story.
  My constituents know the state of our economy is nothing to brag 
about. Prices at the pump are still alarmingly high. Home heating costs 
are skyrocketing. Corporations have stopped paying into their 
employees' pension plans. Taxes on student loans have increased. 
Despite rising health care costs, Medicaid faces deep and painful cuts; 
and American companies are closing plants and cutting jobs. In fact, 
almost 3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since the 
administration took office.
  The American people deserve better than lip service. The American 
people need an administration in Congress that will put their concerns 
first. We have seen over the last couple of years certainly the middle 
income families, which is the great portion of this great country, 
suffering. It is time that we look at them, help them and do a better 
job. America can do better.

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