Joe Pitts: “for months now pundits have been talking about whether America has been teetering on the brink of a recession. Gross…”

“for months now pundits have been talking about whether America has been teetering on the brink of a recession. Gross domestic product has fallen from a whopping 7.3 percent in the last quarter of 1999 to just 1.3 percent in the first quarter of this year. The current quarter is a mystery. We do not know if GDP grew or contracted for the second quarter until it is over. But through all of this, the President has told us if his tax cut package was passed into law, it would provide a much-needed stimulus to the economy. Now it is going to happen. Tomorrow the President signs the bill into law. Every taxpayer will get a refund in the mail and see more take-home pay in their paychecks. David Wyss of Standard & Poors says, ``Roughly half the population is struggling and living paycheck to paycheck. Those folks will use the rebate almost immediately.'' Mr. Speaker, this President promised and this President delivered. This Congress promised and this Congress delivered. This should help stimulate our economy; and this, my friends, is good government.”