John Spratt: “I want to thank Congresswoman Gwen Moore for suggesting this hearing and for her role in bringing it about and putting…”

I want to welcome everyone to our hearing this morning on The Social Safety Net: Impact of the Recession and of the Recovery Act.

The positive impact of the Recovery Act is already being made apparent, and more economic activity will be generated as stimulus dollars continue to spend out.

When President Obama was sworn into office at the beginning of this year, the economy was in deep contraction and jobs were being lost at a rate of 741,000 per month.

I think it is a bit irresponsible to at least articulate to the American people, to the Congress, why you think we need a new policy direction.