On the recordJune 15, 2010
I would ask my friends to take a walk down memory lane and consider where our economy was at the beginning of last year compared to where it is today: 2009 had the biggest single year turnaround this Nation has seen in more than 30 years, going from negative 6 GDP in the first quarter of last year to plus 6 GDP in the last quarter. And we are currently in the midst of our fourth consecutive quarter of strong GDP growth. We have had positive job growth for six of the past 7 months, and the stock market, which bottomed out at 6500 just before we passed the stimulus, is over 10,000 today. Housing starts are up, consumer confidence is on the rise, the auto industry is coming back, and manufacturers are increasing orders and hiring back thousands of workers. No, everything is not where we want it to be or even where we need it to be, but things have gotten better, and there can be no doubt that the bold action of this Congress is the reason why.
