[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5725-5726]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              THE ECONOMY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, President Obama recently bragged to the 
New York Times Magazine about his performance on the economy. He 
boasted about his economic legacy and actually claimed that, by his 
estimation, the administration managed the economic recovery better 
than any peer economy facing a financial crisis--now listen to this--
``on Earth in modern history.'' Well, that is a quote to remember.
  The same day this story hit, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released 
its first quarter report showing only 0.5 percent economic growth. It 
is the latest reminder of the actual economy that Americans are forced 
to confront day in and day out.
  President Obama has presided over the worst economic recovery since 
World War II. Growth is anemic, wages are stagnant for too many, 
poverty is up for too many, jobs are scarce for too many, and Americans 
are losing faith in the future.
  Somehow President Obama doesn't seem to think any of this is his 
problem or a problem at all. The issue isn't his policies or his 
refusal to work across the aisle on solutions. No, to him it is just a 
messaging problem. It is just that he was too busy to ``take victory 
laps'' or explain things properly.
  He believes ``the U.S. economy is in much better shape than the 
public appreciates.'' As the magazine story I mentioned previously 
observes, in fact, he claims that ``by almost every economic measure, 
we are significantly better off.''
  Well, many in the middle class feel quite differently. Just don't 
take my word for it. Here is what Bill Clinton thinks of the Obama 
administration economy. He said: ``Millions and millions and millions 
and millions of people look at that pretty picture of America he 
painted and they cannot find themselves in it to save their lives.''
  That is Bill Clinton on the Obama economy. Hard-working middle class 
families simply cannot find themselves in the picture this President 
has painted of the American economy.
  Median household incomes have shrunk under this President. Too many 
Americans have given up even looking for work altogether, after years 
of failed attempts.
  One survey found that more than half of Americans say that ``the next 
generation will be worse off than them financially.''
  The middle class has now shrunk to such an extent under President 
Obama

[[Page 5726]]

that it no longer contains the majority of Americans. That is something 
none of us should take comfort in.
  I will read a quote from the President. I am not sure he intended it, 
but President Obama said something a few months ago that seemed to sum 
up his economic legacy. He said: ``There was a time I think when upward 
mobility was the hallmark of America.''
  He is right. There was a time. There can be a time again.
  We don't have to accept the Obama economy as the new normal in our 
country. Democrats may want middle-class families to keep their gaze 
down and their expectations tempered, but we have a right to expect 
more in this country. We have a right to believe in our future. It is 
clear we need a change to get America moving again.
  The Republican-led Senate will continue to look for and pass real 
solutions that aim to get our economy back on track--solutions to help 
foster economic growth, solutions to help create jobs and strengthen 
our workforce, and solutions to help America prosper once more.
  If President Obama wants to actually build an economic legacy for 
himself and not just try to spin Americans on one, then I invite him to 
finally join us.
  My Republican colleagues will have more to say on the economy this 
afternoon.
  I thank my colleague Senator Sullivan, who has been outspoken on this 
important matter.
  I also thank Senator Coats for his work to strengthen our economic 
policies as chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, as well as a 
member of the Finance Committee.
  These Senators know the costly toll the Obama economy has had on 
people in their home States, and they are working to address it.

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