[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18039]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               PRESIDENTIAL RHETORIC VS. ECONOMIC REALITY

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Education and Workforce 
Committee, I am shocked at the difference between Presidential rhetoric 
and economic reality. Every time the President speaks about the state 
of our Nation, it becomes apparent just how out of touch he really is.
  Last month, after meeting at Camp David with his economic team, the 
President told reporters that things are good for the American worker. 
Let me ask: What exactly is his economic team telling him?
  The reality is that American workers are suffering, while corporate 
profits soar. Productivity in our Nation has increased, but the workers 
who are putting in the extra effort have no piece of that wealth they 
are helping to create. In fact, wages and salaries are at their lowest 
proportion of the economy, while corporate profits are at the highest 
level since 1960.
  What that means for the average American worker is that they are 
working harder without receiving any real pay increase. Meanwhile, the 
companies they work for are reporting record profits. Something is 
wrong. We need to turn it around and have that reality work for the 
working people.

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