[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21629]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          STATE OF OUR ECONOMY

  (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, on a day after the President addressed 
this country on the need for regulatory reform in the financial sector, 
I stand before you to discuss the state of the economy. Unfortunately, 
my colleagues on the other side of the aisle fail to comprehend the 
inextricable connection between the economy and the need for 
comprehensive health care reform.
  We must remember that the extraordinary rise in health care costs and 
insurance premiums has affected several segments of our economy. 
Surging health care costs slow the rate of job growth by making it more 
expensive for companies to add new workers.
  As health care costs rise, corporate operating margins are cut, which 
reduces the capacity of firms to grow by investing in research, plant 
and equipment. Furthermore, high and escalating out-of-pocket costs are 
forcing families to delay mortgage payments on their homes.
  Since enactment of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we have 
prevented the layoff of tens of thousands of teachers, police officers, 
and other essential public servants, and we have put people to work 
renovating schools and hospitals without one vote from the other side.

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