DENNIS A. CARDOZA: “I rise today to discuss the economic challenges facing our Nation's working families. The latest unemployment figures…”

“I rise today to discuss the economic challenges facing our Nation's working families. The latest unemployment figures make it official: We are now in the longest period of job losses in America since the Great Depression. America has lost half a million jobs in just the last 3 months. Today 8 rac{1}{2} million Americans are out of work, and millions more are working in part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time employment. Let us look at the facts. Since January 2001, when this administration took office, we have seen a massive shift in policy away from fiscal discipline in favor of a record of deficits. The results of this policy could not be any clearer. We have seen 2.2 million lost jobs and an economy spiralling out of control. As I talk to the people in my district in California, I find a high level of anxiety because of this economy. In my district, and in the surrounding region, we have the highest unemployment rates in the entire Nation. It is a terrible situation, and it is not an overstatement to say that my constituents are going through an economic depression.”