Chuck Grassley: “we are in a position where there is a lot of anxiety about the economy. That anxiety probably started back in March of…”

“we are in a position where there is a lot of anxiety about the economy. That anxiety probably started back in March of 2000, when we first saw a downturn in the manufacturing index, and the manufacturing index has been in a downturn for 33 months, at least as far as it relates to employment. There is anxiety that the economy might go back to mid-2000 and later in 2000 when Nasdaq lost half its value. Then September 11 happened. There is anxiety about the war on terrorism, reinforced by the murder of Americans in Saudi Arabia yesterday. There is anxiety about the economy because of the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. As far as war and foreign relations are concerned, there is not a lot we in Congress can do about it because people expect us to fight a war against terrorists. They expect us to make sure that bases for terrorism training against American citizens are not maintained by protection of foreign countries, such as Afghanistan. Americans expect us to not allow a nation such as Iraq, where there has been a great deal of evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction that could be used against American citizens, to continue to exist, or a nation such as Iraq that supports terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah or Hamas, to create greater turmoil in the Middle East, threatening the oil supply coming to the United States which will affect our economy.”