Phil Gingrey: “as the Congress begins to finalize this year's legislative agenda and draw this session to a close, I am very pleased to…”

“as the Congress begins to finalize this year's legislative agenda and draw this session to a close, I am very pleased to see this House continue to do the people's work right up to the end. I am especially pleased this House will soon vote to allow the American people to keep their money and not raise taxes. Clearly, the opponents of maintaining the tax status quo do not trust the taxpayers with their own money. Mr. Speaker, let us review some statistics. The economy grew by 4.3 percent in the previous quarter, the 10th consecutive quarter in which the economy grew by more than 3 percent. Consumer confidence rose by 14 percent in the previous 3 months, and we have a 5 percent unemployment rate which is lower than the average unemployment rate for the past three decades. And to top it off, since May of 2003, 4.4 million jobs have been created. Mr. Speaker, the results are in, and the American taxpayer has passed with flying colors. So let us keep this growth growing. Let us show that we trust the true engine of this economy, the American people. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to do the right thing and support the tax relief reconciliation package. ____________________”