[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 48]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 DEMOCRATS RECOGNIZE THAT ECONOMY IS IN TROUBLE, VOW TO WORK WITH BUSH 
                          TO STIMULATE ECONOMY

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Madam Speaker, across the country more and more Americans 
are struggling to make ends meet. Unemployment has risen to 5 percent. 
Home values are dropping and millions of Americans are getting hit with 
mortgage rate adjustments. At the same time, the costs of health care, 
groceries, gasoline, home heating oil, and college educations continue 
to rise. It is welcome news that Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke is 
signaling that the Fed will cut interest rates to address the slowing 
economy. But this is not enough.
  Democrats want to work with the President and the Republican Congress 
in the coming weeks to jump-start the economy and provide sound relief 
to American families. I would hope that we can all agree that the 
economy needs a jolt. Democrats believe a fiscal stimulus plan should 
adhere to three simple principles to be effective: It must be timely, 
targeted, and temporary.
  Madam Speaker, we want to work in a bipartisan fashion immediately to 
develop a legislative plan based on these three principles so that the 
stimulus plan can be passed and implemented into law without delay.

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