Providing for Consideration of H.R. 7110, Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008

Floor Speech

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Ms. NORTON. I thank the gentleman for his work on this absolutely essential bill. It's inconceivable that Congress would go home without a bill that is just as important as the so-called "bailout.'' Even if the bailout becomes some kind of quid pro quo, and many are trying hard to make it acceptable, I don't believe it will quell the outrage about the economy, particularly the major part of the economy where people work and where they do business, because that economy is also falling. And the outrage comes because the American people think we don't even notice the steep rise in joblessness, the deficits mounting in their own State and local governments where there is decreasing revenue from property and income taxes.

They think we are oblivious to that. We're all focused on Wall Street, yes, but it's unconscionable to go home without taking action on a bill that would put money directly into the economy where it can be spent now and where it's targeted directly to be spent in this country, unlike the well meaning last stimulus. The Saudis got that stimulus. We will be lucky if the bailout of Wall Street even stabilizes the economy.

But we can't fail to understand that Wall Street's firestorm has now spread throughout the economy. We see it in unemployment. We see it in the halt in job creation and continuing foreclosures and delinquencies and mortgage and rent payments, in penalties for withdrawal from people's retirement. We can't let this collapse go on for 4 months while Congress is gone and then come back and think that everything is going to be all right. Paulson and the Fed came forward to try to catch Wall Street before it collapsed. We have to do the same thing for the economy on which the American people are focused. And we can't forget history. I reread history. Here is what we learned from the 1930s.

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Ms. NORTON. It is very important to note because it's the closest history on which we are now relying. "What made matters worse was a big drop in U.S. consumer economy, far more than can be explained by the stock market crash.'' Another commentator said: "The basic lesson from the Great Depression is that government cannot permit massive collapses of banks or spending.'' And, finally, after Roosevelt stabilized the economy, and it still didn't come back, something called the, "Roosevelt recession,'' came, and then he began to stimulate the economy, and the economy began to go.

October to January is too long to leave the American people to fend for themselves while Congress hopes that rescuing Wall Street will rescue workers and unemployment. If we are going to help Wall Street, we must not leave the American people paying for it without any help for them.

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