The Official Truth Squad

THE OFFICIAL TRUTH SQUAD -- (House of Representatives - March 02, 2006)

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Mrs. CAPITO. I would like to thank my colleague from Georgia for his leadership on so many issues, but also on his leadership of the Official Truth Squad.

I think one of the things that I find when I go back to my home district is people do not get what the real truth is. The way we debate here in Congress, it is almost who can besmirch somebody's character. Who can besmirch somebody's program. Who can say in the most sensational way why something is not good, instead of actually looking at the facts and debating the truth on the facts.

That is why I am pleased to be here today, because I want to talk about something that I think is very good news for the American public, and certainly the State I represent, West Virginia, is one of these and that is the state of our economy.

The American economy in 2005 was the envy of the world. Just yesterday, the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, was here extolling the virtues of a democratic government, extolling the virtues of the enormous economic engine that the United States has and brings to the global economy. And I think he made us realize that, number one, we should not take this for granted and, number two, we should recognize it.

I will talk about facts. We will stick with the facts today. Just the facts, ma'am. That is what they say. The economy grew at a robust 3.5 percent rate in 2005, making this the fourth year of expansion. For 10 of the last 11 quarters, the economy has grown at better than 3.3 percent and that is sizable. Furthermore, our economy's fundamental health was underscored by the fact that gulf coast hurricanes and rising energy prices could not derail significant growth, much to our relief.

We have now seen 29 consecutive months of job gains. During this period, 4.8 million jobs were created, and 193,000 just this past January. The latest national employment figure, 4.7, is the best since July 2001, two months shy of September 11. In my home State of West Virginia, we have perennially fought high unemployment. We have perennially fought low economic gains, but I am really pleased West Virginia is part of this economic boost we are feeling across the country.

Our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in January; 3.8 percent is the lowest seasonally adjusted rate we have ever had in the history of keeping statistics in West Virginia. In December alone, the statistics of unemployment was the lowest rate that had ever been in the history of any December when that rate was recorded in the State of West Virginia. That is wonderful news for our State.

The numbers do not lie. They are real results, and the results like these do not happen by accident. Not so long ago in late 2001 during the recession, the economy was being afflicted by serious problems in the wake of 9/11, corporate scandals, and other problems. Economic growth was lagging, and Americans had stopped investing like they used to. There was no job growth, or very little. Fortunately, we here in the House acted on a piece of commonsense legislation. The less you tax something, the more you get. That goes for income, but it also goes for investment. So Congress responded with real tax relief in 2003, encouraging more Americans to invest their earnings.

The Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 lowered all individual tax rates, but lowered the individual tax rate on dividend and capital gains to 15 percent. This loosened the shackles on every individual and freed the genius of the American economy. Since May 2003 when the Jobs and Growth Act was enacted, 4.7 million jobs have been created. Now, that is a truth that is undeniable.

After nine straight declining quarters of business, we have seen 10 straight quarters of rising business investment. Unemployment had reached 6.3 percent in 2003; and as I said today, the 4.7 figure is lower than the averages of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

An added benefit of the tax cut was that the Federal Government actually collected more tax revenue from capital gains even though the rate was lowered. From 2003 to 2004, revenues from capital gains taxes increased from $50 to $60 billion. Last year, the Federal Government received $75 billion in capital gains tax revenue. In fact, overall government tax revenue is currently at its highest level in American history, and our State revenues are reflecting this as well. So we need to keep that tax rate at 15 percent.

We recently passed H.R. 4297, and this bill would make the 15 percent tax rate permanent, and I am hopeful that will pass. But, you know, it is not Washington, D.C. that drives the economy. It is the daily choices of millions of free Americans that drive it. Small businessmen and -women, miners, farmers, taxi drivers, doctors, teachers, all these people who contribute to what we call the national economy. And we should always remember that we owe the strength of our economy to all these hardworking Americans who quietly make this country work every single day.

I would like to take just a few more minutes about my home State of West Virginia. I am very proud that we have had low unemployment. It has been spiraling downward over the last several months. Our homeownership has gone up. We are at one of the highest levels of homeownership across the Nation.

Our crime rate, which we are very, very pleased is perennially low, is lower than ever. I think that is indicative of the rise of the economy and the feeling of robustness and optimism that they have that they can provide for their families.

In West Virginia, more people are going to college than ever before. To me that is an indicator of several things: people are preparing to engage in the knowledge-based economy that we see in our future. Also, if they are able to go on to college right after high school, what does that tell you? It means they can improve their education and they do not need to go into the workforce right away to help their families. And this is a positive step, I think, in broadening and making our West Virginia economy much greater.

As everyone knows, coal is very important to our West Virginia economy. We are a resource-based economy.

We always have been. We have had some very sad times recently in our coal industry, and I want to take this opportunity to thank the Nation for their heartfelt prayers and sincere thoughts concerning the loss of our miners in West Virginia.

It has been very difficult for us because we are a small State. We care about each other very much and one person's loss is every person's loss. That is why we are working in a bipartisan way to do mine safety legislation here in Congress to help with oxygen supplies, to help with tracking miners, to help with communications, to help with response times. And I think that we will get to a good bipartisan resolution on how we can prevent these accidents from happening in the future.

We have over 12 new mines opened in West Virginia. Twelve more than last year. Over 1,200 new miners. This shows you the strength of our economy. Over 50 percent of the electricity generated in this country is generated through coal, and we are very, very pleased about that.

So I think that the problems now that I am hearing or whenever I go out to my town meetings or around grocery shopping or wherever I happen to be, I ask people all the time, how is it going? How is your business? How is work? How are you feeling about the economy? And honestly, to a person, the optimistic flavor of West Virginians both in the State and national economy is immeasurable.

It is so much greater than it has been in the past, to the point where, what am I hearing now: I cannot find enough people to employ; I need 50 more people; we need more miners; we need more electricians; we need more clerks. So I think that we are going to see a time of national prosperity, as we have now, continue to grow and to continue to make that American Dream possible for every American family: the ability to buy a home, to raise your family in a community that you know is safe, to be able to enjoy those small-town values that States like Georgia and West Virginia provide in abundance to Americans.

So I am very pleased that the growth and jobs packages that we have put forward in this Congress are translating into the real meat-and-potato issues on the dinner tables of America. So I thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak. I am going to be speaking about this a lot because I think not only do people realize it, but they need to be reminded that these things do not happen by accident; that policies go into place that bring about the economic changes that bring about more jobs, lower unemployment, more homeownership, more people going to college, and a more optimistic attitude about our future.

Again, I would remind you if you did not see the Prime Minister from Italy yesterday, he had a very powerful message for Americans on several fronts, national security certainly, but also the fact of the admiration that people around the world and countries around the world have for our American economy.

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