[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 22513]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PROGRESS OF THE ECONOMY

  (Mr. SIRES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. SIRES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to highlight the progress that 
our economy has made. When President Obama took office, he faced the 
greatest economic crisis in a generation: home foreclosures were at a 
record level, banks were in crisis, and we had just lost 700,000 jobs 
in January 2009 alone.
  Congress took action, and it is starting to work. In just 200 days 
since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law, 
30,000 projects have been approved, including community health center 
upgrades and transportation improvements; the rate of job loss has 
declined; the jobs of thousands of police officers, nurses, and 
teachers have been saved; and 95 percent of working Americans received 
a tax cut in their paychecks.
  Moreover, employers are hiring again, consumer confidence is rising, 
consumer spending is increasing, and the housing market is turning 
around.
  While we're beginning to see the end of the recession, there's still 
more work to be done. We must continue to build on the progress we have 
made in the Recovery Act to further jump-start our economy and build a 
new foundation for a lasting recovery.

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