On the recordFebruary 3, 2011
we have a long way to go before our economy is back to normal. Ask any American and they will tell you: We have a lot more jobs to create and fill, a lot more homes to save, and a lot more consumer confidence to recover. I hear every day from families in Nevada who still need us to fight for them. I know every Senator hears the same from citizens in their State. There are currently bits and pieces of good news. They are not enough, that is for sure. But the Dow Jones opened this morning above 12,000. That is the highest in many years. Manufacturing is rising more than expected. Consumer spending is beating forecasts also. Corporate profits are higher than anyone predicted. We got a decent jobs number today, better than most economists predicted--not good enough but decent. So it is not all bad news. But I am not satisfied hearing that things are simply better than expected. Nevada, similar to every other State, is still hurting, and our job is not to beat expectations, it is to beat unemployment and beat back the deficit. We cannot assume we are back to normal every time we hear encouraging news. We don't have that luxury because it is not true. We can't let our guard down and we can't waste any more time on symbolic votes.
