[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 249-250]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          THE NEED FOR BIPARTISANSHIP IN THIS ECONOMIC CRISIS

  (Mr. ADLER of New Jersey asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ADLER of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, last year, our economy 
experienced the weakest employment growth since the Great Depression, 
causing more and more families across the country to feel financially 
strapped. The U.S. economy lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the 
first eleven months of 2008, and we heard bad news this morning about 
December's reports. The employment rate last year reached the highest 
level

[[Page 250]]

since 1993, and it could get worse, and those who managed to keep their 
jobs are experiencing stagnant and falling wages.
  Americans are concerned about their futures as debts continue to 
mount, as bills pile up and as parents worry that their children won't 
have the same opportunities they had. Small businesses are an integral 
part of getting this economy moving again. We must ensure that we take 
appropriate action to assist small businesses and to restore our 
economic engine of growth. Small businesses represent the backbone of 
this country and of America's unwavering entrepreneurial spirit.
  Madam Speaker, we must address our economic challenges quickly, and 
we must work in a strong bipartisan fashion to relieve the financial 
strain Americans feel every day. We must work immediately to pass an 
economic recovery package.

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