E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 156 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 No. 38 House of Representatives The House met at 10:30 a.m. and was As you can see by the red line here, $800 billion to that figure for the last 3 called to order by the Speaker pro tem- the worst recession since World War II months of 2009, nearly $6 trillion in re- pore (Ms. WATSON). continually destroyed value from covered wealth. f American households for seven straight The recovery of America’s net worth quarters, from June of 2007 until March is vital to the overall recovery of our DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO of 2009; 21 months of lost net worth. economy. Consumer spending makes up TEMPORE The economy was on the brink of col- 70 percent of our GDP. However, so The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- lapse, and the tremendous losses to long as consumers’ net worth remains fore the House the following commu- every American household were di- depressed, consumer spending will nat- nication from the Speaker: rectly evident. urally suffer. When consumer spending WASHINGTON, DC, But this Congress acted. And as you suffers, businesses pull back and lay off March 16, 2010. can see from the blue line, since pas- employees. It is a tragic downward spi- I hereby appoint the Honorable DIANE E. sage of the Recovery Act, Americans ral, one that unfolded starting in the WATSON to act as Speaker pro tempore on recovered $5 trillion in net worth dur- Bush administration in 2007. this day. ing the second and third quarters of But this chart, this blue line of re- NANCY PELOSI, 2009. Today I have even better news. covery shows we are back on the right Speaker of the House of Representatives. Last week, data came out for the track. Despite historic blizzards that f fourth quarter of 2009, and once again many thought would imperil the recov- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE Americans’ net worth increased for the ery, retail sales actually increased 0.3 third straight quarter. There was an percent in February, outpacing expec- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- additional $800 billion returned to tations. Housing prices increased 7 ant to the order of the House of Janu- American households over just the past straight months, reversing 22 straight ary 6, 2009, the Chair will now recog- 3 months. months of decline. New orders for man- nize Members from lists submitted by Let me put this in context. The Re- ufactured goods are at their highest the majority and minority leaders for covery Act was an investment in this level since 2008. The manufacturing morning-hour debate. Nation, in this economy, in the Amer- index has been growing for 6 straight The Chair will alternate recognition ican people, to help bring us out of the months, and manufacturing jobs have between the parties, with each party Great Recession. It kept hundreds of been growing for 3 months. GDP grew limited to 30 minutes and each Mem- thousands of teachers from being laid at 5.9 percent, its fastest growth in 6 ber, other than the majority and mi- off, including 800 in my own district. years, in the fourth quarter of 2009. nority leaders and the minority whip, That is not just a short-term invest- And today, the stock market is up limited to 5 minutes. ment in economic recovery, it is a more than 70 percent since its March of f long-term investment in our commu- 2009 low. nities and in the education of our chil- We are not out of the woods yet, and RESTORING AMERICANS’ NET dren. we have some ground to cover before WORTH The Recovery Act also provided for the value of the economic losses are The SPEAKER pro tempore. The thousands of needed transportation im- fully recovered. But we are making Chair recognizes the gentleman from provements. Again, that is a short- steady progress, as we can see from Virginia (Mr. CONNOLLY) for 5 minutes. term investment in construction jobs, this chart. We must now continue on Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Madam but a long-term investment in our that path to restore financial stability Speaker, last week I brought the same communities and national infrastruc- for our residents and the economy as a chart to the House floor to visibly dem- ture. The Recovery Act’s investments, whole. onstrate how, starting in 2007, the including more than $200 billion in tax f Great Recession destroyed $17.5 trillion cuts, totaled $787 billion, and it will be of household aggregate wealth in the spent over 2 years time. Where is the JOB KILLING HEALTH CARE United States. I noted that it rep- return on that investment, you just The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resented a loss of more than $56,000 for have to look at the blue line showing $5 Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from every man, woman, and child in Amer- trillion in net worth that has been re- North Carolina (Ms. FOXX) for 5 min- ica. Trillions of dollars of home equity covered since we passed that bill for utes. were lost, retirement savings and col- American families in the first 9 months Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, this lege funds lost. of this year. We can now add another week we are going to be taking up, we b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1443 . VerDate Nov 24 2008 23:34 Mar 16, 2010 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A16MR7.000 H16MRPT1 smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with HOUSE H1444 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 16, 2010 think, a job killing so-called health reform. We want to expand health sav- fusing. The burden in this process that care reform bill that the American peo- ings accounts. We want to put Ameri- is placed upon individuals and small ple do not want but that the Demo- cans in charge of their health care and businesses must be relieved. The IRS cratic leadership and the President are in charge of their health insurance. We itself has estimated that 7.6 billion determined to cram down our throats. don’t want a giant government take- hours are spent in tax preparation This bill will not help our situation over of health insurance and health every year. That 7.6 billion hours in terms of health care or health insur- care. This can be done to help Ameri- equates to 3.8 million people working ance. It does not reduce the cost of cans, but what the Democrats are pro- full time for a full year. Congress can health insurance which was one of the posing will not be the right thing to do. simplify this process and reduce the goals the President said that he want- I serve on the Rules Committee. amount of time and energy spent on ed. It does not solve any of the prob- They are planning to bring a rule that paying our taxes. lems that we need to solve in health will say if you vote for the rule, you As a longtime supporter of the FAIR care. In fact, it makes those problems voted for the bill. That has never hap- Tax, I see H.R. 25 as a step in the direc- worse. pened in the history of this country. tion of liberty and prosperity. The Yesterday I had a town hall in Again, it undermines the rule of law FAIR Tax seeks to eliminate the pay- Statesville, North Carolina, with about and the American people will not stand roll, estate, and many other taxes to be 175 people there. They are very upset for it. replaced by a national sales tax levied on purchased goods. Overhauling the about this proposed health care reform f bill. They understand that a lot of U.S. Tax Code is not an easy task to dirty tricks are being played here, and COLON CANCER AWARENESS undertake, but reducing the burden of they don’t like it. They don’t like sev- MONTH filing taxes should be a priority in this eral aspects of the proposal that is The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Congress. Anyone who views our tax being brought forth this week. Chair recognizes the gentleman from collection practices can see the flaws. Number one, they don’t like the fact Oklahoma (Mr. BOREN) for 5 minutes. The question is whether Congress has that the Democrats are proposing to Mr. BOREN. Madam Speaker, I rise the courage and determination to pass this bill without voting on the today to remind Members of this body change it. bill. They know that goes from passing that the month of March is Colorectal The process of tax reform has major bills without reading them to passing Cancer Awareness Month. During the consequences for every American, but bills without voting for them. Another month of March, colon cancer advo- it is a process that must be started be- thing that they don’t like is they don’t cates across the country will organize cause the consequences of inaction are like to see two bills that have no rela- and participate in a wide range of ac- too costly. The truth remains that tionship to each other put together be- tivities to raise awareness about this Americans want and need some sort of cause one of the bills can’t pass on its horrible disease.