So-Called Economic Recovery

SO-CALLED ECONOMIC RECOVERY -- (House of Representatives - September 09, 2004)

(Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss our so-called "economic recovery."

Last week I visited a woman in my district named Carol Jones. Nine months ago Carol had a job at an investment firm, a steady income, a health care plan, and a pension. But she had something more. She had security.

Then, like so many others struggling to get by, Carol was laid off, went on for months on end without a job, supporting herself on unemployment benefits and, when those ran out, her savings, which are now all but depleted.

The good news for Carol is that after 9 months of unemployment, she will at last be going back to work at her new job at Target. But Carol will be earning significantly less than she made at her last job, and because the job is part-time, Carol will have no benefits for the next 6 months, and this is what the Bush administration calls "turning the corner on the economy."

Madam Speaker, 8 million people out of work, and 82 million people facing monthly premiums for health insurance that have increased by nearly 14 percent this year alone. The Carol Joneses of the world deserve better than this, much better. They deserve a real plan to jump-start the economy, a plan that lowers health care costs, that creates good-paying jobs, and gets workers back their dignity. That is what the American people want, and that is what this majority should be working on.