On the recordMarch 3, 2011
Mr. Speaker, well, here we are. It's 8 weeks into the 112th Congress and still not a single Republican proposal to create jobs and strengthen our economy. No jobs proposals and no jobs. Instead, we have a series of reports stating really clearly that the Republicans' slash-and-burn budgets would eliminate jobs, hundreds of thousands of them, and send our economy spiraling back into recession. Even Goldman Sachs says that the Republican continuing resolution would depress economic growth by 2 percent and raise unemployment by 1 percent. Mark Zandi, the economist, notes that this slash-and-burn idea of spending would cost our country 700,000 jobs. So here we are again, 8 weeks into the new leadership, and all we get is negative growth and job loss. So, Mr. Speaker, where are my colleagues? They need to get serious about creating jobs, strengthening our economy, and ensuring long-term growth for our children and grandchildren. I would urge us to get together, House Democrats, Senate Democrats, and Republicans, in a good-faith effort to pass a funding bill for the remainder of the year that really guarantees our future and creates jobs for our economy. The American people cannot afford to see our economy sliding backwards. ____________________





