[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19567]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




McCAIN'S ASSESSMENT OF ECONOMY SHOWS HE REALLY IS NOT AN EXPERT ON THE 
                                ECONOMY

  (Mr. ALTMIRE asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. ALTMIRE. Madam Speaker, with all of the economic troubles on both 
Wall Street and Main Street, it's hard to believe that there are still 
people out there who think everything is going all right.
  On Monday, the stock market fell 500 points, the biggest fall since 
the terror attacks of September 11. Lehman Brothers, one of the world's 
oldest financial institutions, filed for bankruptcy while another 
financial giant, Merrill Lynch, was bailed out of trouble by Bank of 
America. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said this was 
part of a once-in-a-century crisis.
  I wish President Bush and Senator McCain felt that way. Stubbornly 
clinging to the belief that his economic policies are succeeding, 
President Bush described the events Monday as merely an adjustment. 
Senator McCain declared, once again, that the fundamentals of our 
economy are strong.
  Well, Madam Speaker, President Bush and Senator McCain have to be two 
of the only people in the country who think the economy is just fine. 
How can they fix the crisis when they don't even realize it exists?

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