[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      WHAT WOULD RONALD REAGAN DO?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, when we look at this economy, 
we should ask: What would Ronald Reagan do? When he took office in 
1981, President Reagan inherited an economy in deep recession. During 
the past 3 years, we've heard a number of current Republicans laud the 
accomplishments of Ronald Reagan in spurring economic recovery during 
that decade.
  As they often point out, President Reagan cut taxes. Of course, so 
did President Obama. The Recovery Act, which I proudly supported, cut 
taxes for 95 percent of all Americans, averaging $400 for individuals 
and $800 for families. When that tax cut expired--and when Republicans 
refused to extend it--I was again proud to join President Obama to 
enact the payroll tax cut, averaging $1,000 per family. But tax cuts 
alone do not make a robust recovery.
  The other notable thing Ronald Reagan did was preside over a Nation 
with a sharp increase in public sector employment from local, State, 
and Federal levels. Because, while today's Republicans may try to argue 
otherwise, teaching jobs are jobs; firefighters have real jobs; police 
jobs are jobs. In fact, three of the last four economic recoveries had 
one thing in common: public sector employment increased. Two and a half 
years into the recovery from 2001, total public sector employment was 1 
percent higher; 2\1/2\ years into the recovery from the 1980 recession, 
total public sector employment was 3 percent higher. And 2\1/2\ years 
into the recovery from the 1980 recession, total public sector 
employment under Ronald Reagan was almost 3\1/2\ percent higher than it 
was at the start of the recovery.
  In contrast, today's recovery from the recent recession has seen 
total public sector employment decrease by 2.5 percent, largely because 
the Republicans have gotten their way in trying to shrink the public 
sector. Real jobs were lost. Had total public sector employment merely 
held steady over the last 2\1/2\ years, the unemployment rate today 
would be 7.8 percent, not 8.2. But instead, we've lost 600,000 public 
sector jobs: teachers, police officers, firefighters, librarians, and 
other dedicated public servants. If the goal truly were to foster a 
robust economic recovery, you'd think today's Republicans would be 
looking at how the Nation worked its way out of previous recessions. 
But, obviously, that's not the case.
  Last September, President Obama put forward the American Jobs Act, a 
proposal to cut taxes on workers and businesses to incentivize hiring 
and to fund necessary infrastructure improvements. Economists predicted 
the American Jobs Act would have added up to 1 million new jobs and 
spurred GDP growth by an extra 1.5 percent.
  These are proposals that have traditionally earned bipartisan 
support. For example, one of the single largest infrastructure projects 
ever was under the creation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 
interstate highway program. In 1982, while he was still working toward 
economic recovery, Ronald Reagan proposed a highway and bridge repair 
program to create jobs in the public sector. But, sadly, Republican 
opposition has kept the American Jobs Act from even coming to the floor 
for a vote.
  Many Republicans decried the use of additional revenue to help offset 
any increase in national debt. Apparently, they forgot that when faced 
with rising deficits, Ronald Reagan looked to revenue increases, 
broadening the tax base, closing loopholes, and raising taxes. Yes, he 
raised taxes in 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, and 1987.
  It's unfortunate that today's Republicans have lost sight of the 
value of investing in America in a fiscally responsible manner, because 
the Nation's construction industry has been the hardest hit. America 
lost more than 2 million construction jobs in the recession that began 
in 2007.
  Infrastructure investments don't just create jobs, they also repair 
dangerous bridges and make our roadways safer. They build needed 
schools to lessen overcrowding; they renovate hospitals and improve 
water treatment plants. As part of the Recovery Act, we enacted the 
Build America Bonds program that leveraged $4 billion in Federal funds 
to $181 billion in private sector funding, completing more than 2,000 
projects in every State in the country. I introduced a bill to extend 
this successful program because there remain unmet needs in our 
communities, and there are millions of construction workers awaiting 
the opportunity to return to work and communities that would benefit 
from the projects. We haven't even had a hearing on that bill.
  Mr. Speaker, Dwight Eisenhower did not subscribe to the current 
Republican mantra that investing in America was something to be 
shunned. Ronald Reagan did not share the current Republican dictum that 
serving one's country in public service is somehow a less-than-noble 
endeavor and the way to prosperity is through devastating cuts to the 
public sector.
  Congress must act to ensure long-term fiscal responsibility, but it 
should not come at the expense of millions of Americans struggling to 
get back to work. As we contemplate our economic policies, we really 
should ask: What would Ronald Reagan do?

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