On the recordJuly 20, 2010
It's an honor to be here to address the House of Representatives, to address the people of America, especially to address the people of Michigan. No State has suffered more under the failed policies of the previous administration than the people of Michigan. We are very resilient people, and I will say, for my colleagues to understand, and for everyone watching, the people of Michigan and Michigan's economy, never came out of the last economic recession. This, and as a first-term Member of Congress, I remember being sworn in just about a year and a half ago, and it was that time, this was January of 2009, that we learned that our economy had been in recession for a full year, for a full year. So my freshman colleagues and I, regardless of what side of the aisle they come from, all walked in to a year into the deepest economic recession since the Great Depression. The closest thing I can remember was when I was in college in the early 1980s, not being able to find a job, and it was very, very difficult at that time. But that's the story of many in Michigan. It has hit my family just like practically every family in America.
