Paul Tonko: “And obviously the decline did not happen overnight. We saw that there were months upon months upon years of activity…”

“And obviously the decline did not happen overnight. We saw that there were months upon months upon years of activity that really did not respond favorably to the needs of America's consumers, America's business community, in particular her small business community. So the huge climb back of 30 percent recovered, recaptured, $5-plus trillion, maybe $6 trillion, at this point is a remarkable comeback in a relatively few short months. So this is the start of a comeback, and it certainly is not good enough. We want more. We want more good news. But to keep the direction afloat, to keep the momentum rising means to allow for the progress to continue. And I believe it is very obvious that with the control here in Congress and in the White House, there is a serious desire and design to produce this comeback that was so desperately needed and in a way that is remarkably sound, in investing in issues and areas of activity that were back-burnered for far too long. They held back progress. And now, not only are we producing jobs, producing relief, strengthening confidence, growing the economy; we are doing it with an investment in futuristic outcomes where we are dealing with cutting-edge opportunities in R&D and basic research and job creation in activities from trades to Ph.D.s. This is the full spectrum. This is the beauty of this innovation economy. But at least there is a leadership that gets what needs to be done and is in fact impacting favorably the outcomes here.”