The Need For Bipartisanship In This Economic Crisis
Madam Speaker, last year, our economy experienced the weakest employment growth since the Great Depression, causing more and more families across the country to feel financially strapped. The U.S. economy lost hundreds of thousands of jobs…
Madam Speaker, last year, our economy experienced the weakest employment growth since the Great Depression, causing more and more families across the country to feel financially strapped. The U.S. economy lost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the first eleven months of 2008, and we heard bad news this morning about December's reports. The employment rate last year reached the highest level since 1993, and it could get worse, and those who managed to keep their jobs are experiencing stagnant and falling wages.
Americans are concerned about their futures as debts continue to mount, as bills pile up and as parents worry that their children won't have the same opportunities they had. Small businesses are an integral part of getting this economy moving again. We must ensure that we take appropriate action to assist small businesses and to restore our economic engine of growth. Small businesses represent the backbone of this country and of America's unwavering entrepreneurial spirit.
Madam Speaker, we must address our economic challenges quickly, and we must work in a strong bipartisan fashion to relieve the financial strain Americans feel every day. We must work immediately to pass an economic recovery package.