Press Conference with Senator Charles Schumer - The Economy
Interview
PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER - THE ECONOMY
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SEN. SCHUMER: (In progress) -- it's Groundhog Day because day after day President Bush tells the American people that the economy is strong while more and more of the indicators point in an opposite direction.
Just last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that real wages are declining while gas prices, health care and food expenses are rising significantly. Combined with the housing market turmoil, American families are in a real crunch heading into the holiday season and the New Year. And just today's statistics about Christmas purchases of women's apparel is a reminder, an indication that all of the problems in the economy are putting a crimp in the holiday buying season.
But the administration continues to see the economy through rose- colored glasses, whether it be the subprime crisis, the credit crisis, the energy crisis, the declining dollar crisis. It blithely marches along without making any serious effort to solve these economic problems. One would think that the president is in one economic world and almost all the rest of America is in another. It's as if the two don't add up.
The president said he was proud of six years of uninterrupted job growth. That's nice. But the fact is he's competing with his own father for the worst job creation record of any president since Herbert Hoover, having created only 72,000 jobs per month since he took office, extremely low given our expanding population. At this point, President Clinton's administration had created an average of 246,000 per month to show you the difference, almost four times as great.
And for the president to say that HOPE NOW and FHA reform, two needed but certainly very small programs, are going to solve the economic and housing problems we now face is scary. FHA will help about 80,000 homeowners; HOPE NOW, 145,000 families, according to the experts. So the president says dealing with 1 in 10 foreclosures is good enough, because about 2 million are estimated to occur. And the recent report by the Joint Economic Committee estimated that each foreclosure costs about $220,000 in direct and indirect costs.
Now, the president's speech was designed to calm the markets and American fears that the economy is in a tailspin. Unfortunately by offering nothing but the same old "everything's okay" response, today's speech is just going to worry the markets further. The markets want someone strong and someone in charge. And it appears, when it comes to economics, the president is neither.
The 1890s and 1900s taught us that when it comes to the economy, autopilot often does not work, but unfortunately the president missed that day in history class. The number one problem in the markets is that they have the sense that no one is in charge, and the president unfortunately said nothing today to reassure them, and in fact has made the markets even more anxious. The president's wrong on housing, wrong on energy, wrong on health care, out of touch with the average American. And so the American people are wondering, what world does the president live in to be so out of touch with economic reality that families and the markets are now facing?
In terms of fiscal austerity, the president's protestations are a joke. He rails against $22 billion in the domestic budget but will go ahead and spend $200 billion on the war in Iraq and say we don't have to pay for that. Those may be different priorities than the Congress, and we can argue those. But the president can have no claim whatsoever on fiscal responsibility, because a green dollar spent on the war in Iraq and a green dollar spent on health or education equally contribute to the deficit.
Okay, I'm ready for your questions.
Yes.
Q (Off mike.)
SEN. SCHUMER: The Fed is releasing its --
Q (Off mike.)
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, well, I think that again we need real disclosure here. I have legislation which would put everything on one page, on the front of each mortgage document -- how much you pay now, how much you'd pay when the rate goes up, and how much further down the road, and what the fees are. So what I'd hope with -- (inaudible) -- is that it be as clear and easy to understand as possible.
No one can be expected to read a 30-page mortgage document in legalese.
Q (Off mike) -- expect that the Fed is going to go far enough for Democrats on the Hill --
SEN. SCHUMER: No.
Q -- or are you going to keep working with various people -- (off mike)?
SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah. I think that I am worried that the Fed will not -- although I have to tell you I've worked closely with the Fed under Chairman Greenspan on the so-called Schumer Box, which did the same for credit cards. It made it very clear the interest rate you pay and the penalties. And if they would follow that model, they'd be in good shape. But I'm afraid that they're not going to be that clear and that explicit.
Q Senator Schumer, can I get your reaction to Senator Lieberman endorsing John McCain for president?
SEN. SCHUMER: I wish he hadn't done it. I think that the needs of America are much more in line with what the Democratic party is standing for.
Q Are you worried he'll quit the caucus?
SEN. SCHUMER: No. Joe's been -- Joe has voted with us on most of the domestic issues.
Q Senator, what happened to your GSE bid, to try to get that on the omnibus? Were you able to?
SEN. SCHUMER: No, the administration and several other senators objected. As you know, the omnibus is basically -- it's an amazing thing. It's a huge document that has to be forged by consensus. And that's almost an oxymoron these days. And we're going to try to put our FHA -- our GSE proposal somewhere else. We got the FHA thing done, but make no mistake about it, the GSE legislation is far more needed than the FHA, even though the FHA will take a step in the right direction.
Q So you'll be back early next year?
SEN. SCHUMER: We will be back. No question.
Q Senator Schumer, what do you attribute -- to what do you attribute what seems to be a lack of interest or a lack of passion behind this effort to strip out these immunity provisions in the FISA bill -- (off mike)?
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, I don't think there is a lack of passion. I think it's a difficult issue. I did vote to strip out immunity in the committee and will vote to do it on the floor, but I think there are great divisions. And I really respect those who are trying to come up with a compromise. Even those who are, like myself, who are against immunity really don't want to punish the phone companies as much as we want to hold the government accountable, but it's very difficult to find a way to do it. Senator Specter is pursuing substitution, but substitution has its own problems.
Yes?
Q (Off mike) -- $70 billion for the war in Iraq, you said no more blank checks for the war in Iraq. Is that still going to be the case, or -- (off mike).
SEN. SCHUMER: Well, we are going to keep -- we are just going to keep fighting to change the course and direction in Iraq. It's becoming clearer and clearer to the American people that you can't do it without 60 votes in the Senate. We would hope that the battle wouldn't be delayed till next November, but if it is, we're confident we'll prevail.
Thank you, everybody.
Q I didn't want to belabor the point, but were you surprised when you heard about Senator Lieberman's decision at all? I mean --
SEN. SCHUMER: I've said all I'm going to say.
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