[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                    LET'S MAKE 2016 A YEAR OF ACTION

  (Ms. KELLY of Illinois asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, our economy has made solid gains 
since 2009. We have added millions of jobs. Businesses are hiring. Our 
economy is growing.
  In the Second District, we are seeing signs of recovery through small 
business growth and new startups like The New Look Restaurant and Bar 
owned by Nate and Cleo Pendleton.
  But the fact remains that the American Dream still remains out of 
reach for far too many families. Today 8 million Americans are 
searching for well-paying jobs 7 years after the end of the recession.
  Each year at my annual jobs fair, I meet hundreds of these qualified 
Americans who are tired of searching for good jobs. They are single 
mothers in night school. They are fathers working two part-time jobs to 
keep a roof over their family's heads. They are veterans who survived 
the fight abroad only to fight for employment at home. They are seniors 
who have to reenter the workforce after their retirement savings were 
wiped out.
  These Americans deserve a government that will pass impactful jobs 
legislation. Let's make 2016 a year of action and economic prosperity.

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