[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13843]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   RAISING CONCERNS ABOUT THE ECONOMY

  (Mr. EMANUEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, in July of 2001, a few months after 
President Bush took office, gas was $1.33 a gallon. Five years later, 
July 2006, it has more than doubled to $3.00, and in places like 
Chicago, it is as high as $3.40 a gallon.
  But this is not the only place where the administration has failed 
middle-class families. Since 2000, the cost of health care has 
increased 73 percent to $11,000 for a family of four. The cost of 
tuition at a 4-year public college has increased 38 percent since 2001 
and, at the same time, average weekly earnings have declined by 1 
percent in America.
  So while costs spiral out of control, middle-class families have less 
money in their pockets. That is not exactly what I would call a record 
of achievement. Yet today, the President said the economy is strong and 
getting stronger. The American people know that such statements are 
wrong and getting wronger. The President's statements show how out of 
touch he is with the struggles and challenges American families face 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, all is not well on Main Street. It is high time that 
Washington and this Congress took action. It is time for a new 
direction. It is time for a change.

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