[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13843]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            THINK ABOUT THIS

  (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. KUCINICH. America's manufacturing base is being decimated, but 
it's not only happening because of economic trends in our country.
  Yes, our gross domestic product has fallen off. Yes, we have a 
massive trade deficit. But this week when GM filed for bankruptcy--GM 
was pushed into bankruptcy, and when they were pushed into bankruptcy, 
we also lost 14 manufacturing plants, 21,000 jobs, and 2,400 
dealerships are going to be closed.
  Think about this. If we take away this manufacturing infrastructure 
of manufacturing and dealerships and suppliers, what happens when our 
economy comes back? We will have permanently altered our ability to 
produce cars in this country.
  I want the Members of Congress to consider this when you think about 
this administration's auto task force. It hasn't gone the right way for 
the American worker, it's not going the right way for American 
manufacturing, and it's not going the right way for the American 
economy.

                          ____________________