What are they Thinking?

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? -- (House of Representatives - February 11, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this evening to give voice to the voiceless. Millions of Americans are filling out unemployment forms and are filling our unemployment rolls. Many more are dropping off the lists because they simply see no hope and no prospects for jobs in the future.

According to recent reports, in the last 3 months, more than 40 percent of the unemployed have been out of work for more than 15 months, for over a year. We have not seen record numbers like this since 1983. Jobs are becoming scarcer.

In my own State of Ohio, we have lost 264,700 jobs since President Bush took office. And last week in our district, Dixie Cups, owned by Georgia Pacific, announced its closure; 207 more Americans will be without work. Nationwide, we have seen the disappearance of over 3 million private sector jobs. Now the Bush administration appears to be supporting outsourcing of even more of our jobs overseas.

It used to be that it was only the workers on the line who had to worry. Now, in Silicon Valley, the high-tech areas of the country have to worry, too; and in our medical community, if we are to read the President's report, even radiologists and those in medical tech are feeling the pain and will feel the pain.

We are not just talking about the manufacturers and the farmers anymore. Even the previously sacred service sector jobs are under threat. Even telephone solicitors are now being outsourced to India and to Ireland as the ranks of our unemployed continue to grow.

Earlier this week, the top Bush economic advisor, the head of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, stated, outsourcing of jobs is a form of free trade, and that is probably a plus for the economy in the long run.
It is hard to read those words and really think he believes them. What is going on in the minds of the people over there at the White House? Maybe the President needs to get out from behind his desk in the Oval Office, travel around the country and meet with real workers who are worried and the millions who are out of work.

Just last month President Bush came to my district. Unfortunately, his motorcade did not make any stops in our community where he had an opportunity to meet these people, those who are really worried and those who have been out of work for a very long time. If he had done that, he might have heard from people who used to work at Dixon-Ticonderoga, manufacturing school supplies and whose jobs have been moved to Mexico; nearly 2,000 workers from Phillips Electronics, who had the same thing happen to them; or Georgia Pacific-Dixie Cup, the workers who just lost their jobs last week; or those at Acuity Lighting in Vermillion, Ohio, whose jobs are being moved to Matamoros, Mexico; or the workers from Spangler Candy out in Williams County in Bryan, Ohio, whose jobs have been moved and more will be moved to Mexico, making candy canes and various sugar candies; or any number of workers on the line in our tool and die shops who have been moved out of those shops and on to the unemployment lines.
But, instead, for him it was just another campaign stop in Ohio. In fact, the day after his visit, the unemployment rate in Ohio ticked up again.

My constituents know what is important, a dependable job with a decent wage. They want to help their children complete their education, first high school and, if possible, college beyond that; and they want to be able to depend on a pension that will be there for them when they need it. But, instead, we are turning our students into debtors, our pensions are becoming more risky, and it is harder and harder for our kids to go on to school.

The 2003 trade deficit will set a record of nearly half a trillion dollars, more products being made, more services being done in other countries rather than here at home. Over a half a trillion dollars. Imagine if we could invest that here at home. The Federal deficit, as a result, is also at record highs.

And what is the President's plan to secure Social Security and Medicare for our generations and beyond? More budget-busting tax breaks for the super rich, while wages for ordinary people are stalled or declining or they are thrown on to unemployment lines.

Again, I really do have to ask, what is the White House thinking? I have repeatedly called for a new Declaration of Independence for our country, a declaration of economic independence for our families, for our workers. We must ensure first the economic security of our Nation. It must be one of our Nation's number one priorities. Instead, leading Republicans think it is a great idea to send more of our jobs overseas.

It makes me wonder what kind of future is in store for our future generations. This Congress must draw the line in the sand here. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up for working families immediately for the extension of unemployment benefits and no more stealing from the Social Security Trust Fund to pay off the White House's pet projects; no more tax breaks for the super rich; no more unfair trade deals like NAFTA; and no Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors that had the idea of sending more of our jobs overseas is the answer to these problems.