[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TAX CUTS FOR WEALTHY, PAY CUTS FOR MIDDLE CLASS

  (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for a lot of 
American families it is becoming more and more difficult to make ends 
meet in the Bush economy. With sky-high gas prices this summer, rising 
health care costs and stagnant wages, working Americans are feeling a 
serious squeeze on their family finances.
  Unfortunately, President Bush and the congressional Republicans 
refuse to address our economy because they think it is moving along 
smoothly. But that is simply not the case.
  While full-time minimum wage earners face a 50-year low in buying 
power, and all Americans face wages that are falling after inflation, 
corporate profits have reached their highest share of the economy since 
the 1960s. It would be nice if corporate CEOs and shareholders were not 
the only ones benefiting from the production American workers are 
bringing in every day. Democrats believe it is time for them to get 
their fair share.
  Mr. Speaker, working Americans are ready for a new economic 
direction, one where workers are justly compensated for their efforts 
and the benefits of increased productivity can be shared by all. The 
days of catering exclusively to the wealthiest have helped create the 
troubling economic conditions that our Nation now faces. It is time for 
a change.

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