Congressional Record—House H609
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January 28, 2020 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H609 I applaud Brett for making this dona- speak about the subject of paramount compared to the level of the economic tion to save a complete stranger’s life, concern for most Americans: the econ- expansion that began under his prede- and I am particularly moved by the omy. Healthcare, the economy, and cessor. selflessness and kindness that Brett their jobs are what folks are focused on This chart—and it will probably be made with this action. when they wake up in the morning. hard to see for many viewers—shows Brett’s choice to donate his kidney The Joint Economic Committee now that job growth was highest here in the demonstrates the most compassionate headed on our side of the aisle by DON years before President Trump took of- side of humanity. BEYER from Virginia, released two re- fice and then lower, following. Today, I recognize Brett Milam for ports today that all Americans should Now, what does that mean? his extremely selfless act of kindness. look at carefully. One of them focuses Let me give you the big figure, Thank you, Brett, and God bless. on the failure of the 2017 Trump tax Madam Speaker, because the specifics of the chart will be difficult for people f cuts which Chairman NEAL will be fo- cusing on shortly. to see on the floor and in the gallery. COMMENDING EPA ADMINIS- Republicans claim that the tax cuts What it means is that, on average— TRATOR ANDREW WHEELER would pay for themselves and not add a and this is an important fact to re- (Mr. LAMALFA asked and was given penny to deficits and debt. That is a member—under President Obama, permission to address the House for 1 theory that we have heard time and there were 227,000 jobs created per minute and to revise and extend his re- time again from Republicans to sup- month over the last 35 months of his marks.) port their tax cuts for the wealthiest in term. Mr. LAMALFA. Madam Speaker, I our country. Both experience and evi- Now we have had 35 months of the wish to commend EPA Administrator dence tell us that their tax cuts always Trump term. What has he done to real- Andrew Wheeler for his recent clearing end up driving our deficits up, hurting ize that promise of 25 million jobs? up of the definition of waters of the the middle class, and placing the bur- Madam Speaker, 36,000 less jobs per United States, known as WOTUS, in- den on future generations. month have been created under Donald deed, causing a lot of woe for people in I hope Americans will read that re- Trump than under Barack Obama in my district and the Western U.S., espe- port and draw the same conclusions the same timeframe. cially. that so many economists have made Now, that is important because the Under the 2015 definition, it seemed about the dangerous tax scam. President, of course, claims that this is every puddle, every ditch, every pos- The second report which we will be the best economy we have ever seen. As sible water source was going to be focusing on this evening concerns the I said, that is 36,000 fewer jobs per brought under the fist of the U.S. Gov- economy more broadly. It asks a ques- month, and 1.26 million fewer jobs over ernment. With much dismay, many tion that many Americans may be ask- President Trump’s term from the trend farmers, ranchers, people building, and ing this year: Is the Trump economy he inherited. people doing simple things were unable doing as well as the President claimed Madam Speaker, I am going to show to understand what they were supposed it would? you a chart on how the economy that to do. Indeed, it was a long arm of gov- And: Can the President take credit President Obama had put in place with ernment overreach. for economic growth that began long the help of the Congress was going What we have heard since then: ‘‘Oh, before he took office? straight up. At this pace, President Trump’s 4- the sky is falling. This is going to roll I want to thank the gentleman from year term will not achieve the same back protections.’’ Virginia (Mr. BEYER) for his efforts as level of job creation as the previous 4- These aren’t protections. These are vice chair of the Joint Economic Com- year term of President Obama. In fact, things that are way beyond the scope mittee, as well as the former vice he would fall—listen to this figure—2.5 of what government should be doing. chair, CAROLYN MALONEY, who now million jobs short. It limited the scope of rivers and heads up the Oversight and Reform So, when we hear the President at a large streams and our oceans. So with Committee. rally claiming this great economic all of ‘‘the sky is falling’’ you are hear- I will be yielding to Mr. BEYER soon boom, remember, 2.5 million less jobs ing, no, it isn’t anything like that. In- to speak more about the content of the created. deed, it is putting it back into more eq- committee’s report. He will be followed President Trump also loves to cite uitable space. by Mr. NEAL who is the chairman of the low unemployment rate, which, in What this rule does is, indeed, end the Ways and Means Committee, and a December 2019, stood at 3.5 percent. the confusion and ends the Federal senior member of this body. He is prob- That is, indeed, a low number. It is a overreach and helps us get back to ably one of the most knowledgeable good number in the sense that it shows business and still protect the environ- people, not only about taxes, but about that so many of our people are work- ment. the economy in general. But first I want to speak a little bit ing. But underlying those facts are so f about this President’s record on the many of our people are working one, STATE OF THE ECONOMY economy. two, and three jobs so they can support themselves and their family. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under President Trump sought office on a raft of economic promises. He promised Now, when he took office, the rate the Speaker’s announced policy of Jan- was 4.7 percent. It is 3.5 percent now uary 3, 2019, the gentleman from Mary- to create 25 million new jobs in 10 years. and 4.7 percent when he took office. land (Mr. HOYER) is recognized for 60 He promised 6 percent growth in our Compare that to the decline in the un- minutes as the designee of the major- domestic product. employment rate during the same pe- ity leader. He promised to eliminate the $19 tril- riod in President Obama’s second term. GENERAL LEAVE lion national debt. At his second inauguration, the rate Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I ask He promised to get wages up for was 7.9 percent. He left office with 4.7 unanimous consent that all Members American workers with $4,000 raises as percent. That is 3.2 percent less. He left have 5 legislative days in which to re- a result of the tax cuts. the office with a 4.7 percent unemploy- vise and extend their remarks and in- And the President promised to make ment rate, continuing a strong decline. clude any extraneous materials on the healthcare much less expensive and Under President Obama, a decline of subject of this Special Order. much better. 5.3 percentage points from when he The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there took office; under President Trump, a objection to the request of the gen- b 1645 decline of 1.2 percentage points. tleman from Maryland? Let’s see how he is doing. Madam Speaker, let me give you that There was no objection. On the first measure, job growth, job figure again. Under President Obama, Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I come growth has slowed under President he inherited from George Bush a de- to the floor this afternoon with a num- Trump. Let me repeat that. Job growth clining employment. It spiked at 10 ber of my Democratic colleagues to has slowed under President Trump percent, and under President Obama, VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:45 Jan 29, 2020 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K28JA7.067 H28JAPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with HOUSE H610 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 28, 2020 that came down to 4.7 percent. That is shown to be, are not accurate. That is economic policies. That means jobs for where you get the 5.3 percent reduc- a polite way to say it. The facts tell them. That means some money to in- tion. Actually, he halved the unem- the opposite story. vest in their children, in their families, ployment rate if you figure it that Over the course of the Obama Presi- in their mortgages, in buying a car, a way. dency, 10.8 million jobs were created as refrigerator, or a new stove or fixing Under President Trump, however, he the unemployment rate fell from, as I their heat when it goes out. inherited a downward trend—in other said, 10 percent to 4.7 percent. In the What President Trump doesn’t seem words, less unemployment as opposed last 11 quarters of President Obama’s to understand, however, is that a thriv- to more unemployment from Bush to term, real GDP growth was averaging ing economy is more than growing the Obama—and he has failed to keep the 2.6 percent—a remarkable turnaround stock market.