Elijah Cummings: “just recently the economic report of the President, which was sent to Congress under the President's signature…”

“just recently the economic report of the President, which was sent to Congress under the President's signature, predicted that the economy would create some 2.6 million jobs this year. Yet, Mr. Speaker, the President has yet to create a single net job since his inauguration, not one. Meanwhile, we have lost almost 9 million people in this country that are hopelessly out of work. Many of these intelligent, educated, and able-bodied Americans have given up on looking for work because our national unemployment situation is so grim. As a result, they are unable to provide the basic necessities for their families. Instead, they are watching President Bush on television traveling the country, touting his economic record that again has yet to create a single net job. Mr. Speaker, we have got to get the employment situation in this Nation back on track. The phrase 'jobless recovery' is of no consolation to the nearly 9 million Americans who are unemployed and the millions who are underemployed in our country. Mr. Speaker, zero represents the amount of money nearly 9 million people are bringing home bi-weekly instead of a paycheck. Zero represents a degree to which the tax cuts being promoted by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have worked to achieve their goal. Zero also represents the amount of compassion American voters should give this administration in November since these numbers will not change without new leadership in Washington.”