John Spratt: “If I were able to cast my vote, I would vote in favor of H.R. 249, as I have done in the past 109th Congress, rollcall…”

Failed Republican economic policies had brought the financial system dangerously close to a complete meltdown and had driven the economy into its deepest recession since the 1930s.

Shouldn't we stop creating new programs, now agencies, new commissions and new discretionary spending?

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

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.