[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 1584-1585]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DIGGING OUT FROM THE RECESSION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, as the mid-Atlantic region 
continues to dig out from historic winter snowstorms, it reminds us of 
our efforts to continue to dig out of the Great Recession. The snow 
finally stopped falling, yet it has taken us a long time to get back to 
normal. Thousands of people waited in subfreezing temperatures for days 
for their power to be restored; thousands more waited days for their 
streets to be plowed. Despite best efforts, the recovery has taken 
time. Our economic recovery also takes time.
  The Great Recession of 2007 has officially lasted for 19 months. It 
was the longest recession since the Great Depression. Seven hundred 
forty-one thousand Americans lost their jobs in January of 2008. In the 
first quarter of 2009, GDP tumbled an astonishing 5.4 percent. By 
March, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had plummeted more than 53 
percent. Unemployment rose to 10.2 percent, a 26-year high.
  Without immediate action, Mr. Speaker, the economy was on the brink 
of falling into a devastating depression. With more than 700,000 
Americans losing their jobs every month when we took office, we had to 
act immediately, and we did.
  The Great Recession lasted 2 years, and a full recovery will take 
time. But we made significant improvements in all areas of the economy, 
and we are in recovery now. Second quarter GDP in 2009 slipped 0.7 
percent. The following quarter saw a return to economic growth of 2.2 
percent. And in the fourth quarter of 2009, GDP exceeded expectations 
and registered an outstanding 5.7 percent growth, a swing of more than 
11 percent in just 9 months.
  The manufacturing industry grew in January 2010 for the sixth 
consecutive month and, according to the Institute for Supply 
Management, is at its highest level since August of 2004. Retail 
spending, a critical component of recovery, increased 0.5 percent in 
January. The stock market has increased almost 60 percent since its 
March low, beginning to restore 401(k)s and college funds.
  Mark Zandi, a Republican economist from Moody's and former economic 
adviser to Senator John McCain during his presidential campaign, said, 
``I don't think it's an accident that the economy has gone out of 
recession and into recovery at the same time that the stimulus is 
providing its maximum economic impact.''
  Mr. Speaker, our job is not finished, but our efforts have saved the 
economy

[[Page 1585]]

from complete collapse and half-restored growth.
  A full jobs recovery will also take time. Monthly job growth during 
the economic boom in the late 1990s was 231,000. The 2000s saw much 
worse job conditions. Through the 8 years of the Bush administration, 
annual job growth was the worst since World War II, averaging just 0.2 
percent, less than half of the next lowest administration. We had our 
work cut out for us from the start, but we acted decisively and created 
the conditions for job growth. Job losses that were 741,000 when we 
started here, by November of 2009, we had in fact created 64,000 jobs 
net. As a consequence of declining job losses, the unemployment rate 
has begun to fall from 10.2 percent to 9.7 percent today.
  It will take time to fully dig out of this economic morass. 
Therefore, it is critical we maintain the course and allow our efforts 
to continue their positive effect.
  Mr. Speaker, the mid-Atlantic region suffered a second serious winter 
storm within the same week. For those who hadn't fully dug out from the 
first record blizzard, the additional snowfall was a daunting and 
dangerous challenge. The same holds true for our economy. But, unlike 
the weather, we can have an impact. Americans have always been 
persevering. If we stay the careful course that has led to the 
beginnings of our recovery, we can avoid the dangers of a double-dip 
recession. We can and will maintain our economic recovery until every 
American has a chance to return to work.

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