Lagging Wages

LAGGING WAGES -- (House of Representatives - July 20, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of January 20, 2004, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, this weekend, we had more proof that middle- and low-income workers are still feeling
the economic squeeze when it comes to making ends meet. Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that
hourly earnings of production workers, non-management workers ranging from nurses and teachers to assembly-line
workers, fell 1.1 percent last month. That is the steepest decline since the recession of 1991, and makes up the lowest
level of weekly pay since October 2001.

While weekly pay is at its lowest levels in over a decade, middle- and lower-income workers are feeling the squeeze
thanks to ever-increasing education, health care, and gas prices that are rising at rates much higher than the stagnant
incomes.

Let us consider a middle-class nurse in my State of New Jersey whose income fell 1.1 percent last month. How can this
nurse afford the average $2,700 increase in health care premiums that New Jersey families face this year? How can this nurse and her family afford the $1,600 increase in college tuition costs? How can this nurse afford the more than
$2,000 increase in child care costs? These increases would be difficult to keep up with if the nurse was actually
receiving cost of living raises, however, it is impossible to meet with rising costs when you are actually seeing a cut in
pay.

There is no doubt it is becoming more and more difficult for these middle-class families to make ends meet. You would
think this disappointing news would concern President Bush. After all, he already has the dubious distinction as the
only President since Herbert Hoover to lose jobs on his watch--1.8 million private sector jobs have been lost over the
last 3 years thanks to the economic neglect of President Bush and Republicans here in Congress.

Instead of showing any concern, the President has said that our economy does not need boom or bust type growth. The
President ought to tell that to the millions of families around America that are struggling to make ends meet.
The economic record of President Bush and the Republican House of Representatives has been an utter failure, and the
President's statement that an economic boom is not needed today shows he is clearly out of touch by the economic

realities middle-class Americans presently face.

You do not have to take my word for it, Mr. Speaker, two members of the President's own party have voiced concern
about the economy and the President's inability over the last 3 years to ease the economic concerns of both the
unemployed and the middle class. Last week, Senator Voinovich from Ohio signaled his frustration with the Bush
administration when he stated, and I want you to keep in mind this is a Republican Senator from Ohio I am quoting,
"Despite these overwhelming problems facing our Nation's manufacturers, I must say I have yet to see any significant
action on behalf of the Bush administration to respond."

Now, that is a member of the President's own party admitting that the administration has not properly responded to the
economic hardships many Americans now face. And, last week, another Republican Senator said the President's
economists gave him bad advice on the impact his tax cuts would have on the economy.

I am quoting Charles Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate committee that writes all the tax laws. He said,
"U.S. President Bush should have been more skeptical about economic predictions regarding jobs created by tax cuts
totaling $1.7 trillion over 10 years." Grassley continues: "His economists screwed up and Bush was not right in not
questioning his economists."

Now, again, that is a Republican Senator admitting that the tax cuts President Bush and Congressional Republicans
have been touting as the answer to our Nation's economic problems will not actually create jobs or help middle-class
families.

It is nice that some within the Republican Party are finally realizing that their tax cuts for the wealthiest have not
trickled down to the middle class. Maybe these statements from Republican senators will serve as a wake-up call not only to President Bush but also to Republican leaders in Congress that our Nation needs a real economic stimulus plan.
You cannot actually fix a problem until you admit a problem. And, unfortunately, President Bush is still in denial that the economy needs fixing.