[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 23]
[House]
[Page 31840]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             TIME FOR A NEW APPROACH TO RESTORE OUR ECONOMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, it is time for a new approach to bring 
our country back to where it was for most of the two centuries, the 
land of hope and opportunity.
  Unfortunately, there is a growing fear about our Nation's future 
among many in my congressional district, as well as throughout the 
Nation. The economic recession continues, according to many 
constituents with whom I speak every day.
  My constituents tell me how they have personally felt the constant 
drumbeat of rising unemployment, the ballooning cost of college 
tuitions, the reality of postponing retirement and the continuing 
credit implosion that has hurt so many homeowners and small businesses. 
No doubt our Nation continues to struggle and people need help.
  But the congressional majority and the administration have spent the 
last year on an agenda that grows big government, that escalates the 
deficit, that borrows billions from adversarial foreign governments. As 
a result of this unprecedented government spending spree, our national 
debt will reach unchartered levels, doubling over the next 5 years and 
tripling in just 10 years.
  Not surprisingly, as our debt doubles and revenues plunge, creating 
jobs has taken a back seat to other issues. The $800 billion stimulus 
bill has failed to create or save the millions of jobs that it 
promised. Since it was passed, in fact, we have actually lost 3.3 
million jobs while the unemployment rate remains at 10 percent 
nationally, and in my home State of Florida it has now reached 11 
percent. The question now is can we still grow our economy, create jobs 
and help struggling families without further mortgaging our children's 
future.
  First, we should agree to block any Federal tax increases until 
unemployment drops below 5 percent. Americans of all political 
persuasions can agree that the government should never raise taxes 
during periods of high unemployment.
  Second, we need to restore confidence in America's economic future. 
Record deficits and debt, combined with runaway spending, have shaken 
our confidence in our economic future. One proposal is to freeze 
domestic discretionary spending at last year's level without raising 
taxes. Proponents state that this would save U.S. taxpayers $53 billion 
immediately, but, more importantly, it would send a signal that we are 
committed to lowering the deficit.
  Third, we need to approve three promising free trade agreements with 
Colombia, South Korea and Panama that have stalled under this 
administration. Recently the President stated that increasing U.S. 
exports by just 1 percent would create over 250,000 jobs. Sure enough, 
the independent International Trade Commission estimates that these 
three deals would boost U.S. exports by over 1 percent.
  Well, I look forward to hearing from the constituents of my 
congressional district in South Florida about how we can bring back 
economic growth and ensure that America will once again be the land of 
opportunity that I knew when I first came to this country almost five 
decades ago.
  It's time to get our economy back on track.

                          ____________________