On the recordJanuary 25, 2011
Mr. Speaker, tonight the President of the United States will deliver the State of the Union address, as we all know. If the reports are accurate, what he will talk about today is the need to make serious investments in this country's future. Now, we have just heard from a colleague from the other side of the aisle, and we have heard from many Republicans over the last few days, concerning the issue of spending and whether or not we need to be spending any more money in this time of admittedly dire financial circumstances. You know, most families, when they borrow money, they do it for two reasons: either for survival--they need to eat; they need to feed their children; they may need a house for their family; they need to clothe them--or they borrow because they see an opportunity to invest and to make their lives better down the road. Now, I know that many people don't think of government spending as investment. But if we look back not too long, just over recent history, the last few decades, we have seen numerous instances in which government investment has not only created jobs, it has spawned entirely new industries. As a matter of fact, even though people made fun of Al Gore many years ago, the fact is that government investment actually created the Internet.…





