Gwen Graham: “Today, the Senate began consideration of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. This is an…”

“Today, the Senate began consideration of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. This is an appropriately named act because the economy is very much in need of assistance. The President's mishandling of the economy since January 20, 2001, is almost incredible. Two million-plus Americans have lost their jobs since that date. We have seen a 50 percent increase in the unemployment rate to last month's 6 percent. The stock market has lost a quarter of its value. There has been a $7 trillion turn in the Federal Government's finances--from a $5 billion projected surplus to today's $2 trillion projected addition to the national debt. The CBO's most recent estimate is that the deficit this year will top $350 billion--the largest annual deficit ever. Economic growth has been anemic--on average, 1 percent, and consumer confidence has dropped 34 percentage points. What has been the response to this dismal economic record? The President has proposed the same prescription that he proposes for nearly all of our mounting domestic problems: tax cuts for the very wealthy. Madam President, I don't think we have a problem; we have at least three interconnecting challenges.…”