Hearing of the House Budget Committee - Congressional Budget Office's Budget and Economic Outlook

Hearing

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me start by congratulating you, Mr. Chairman, on your first hearing as Chairman of the Budget Committee. And to Dr. Elmendorf, thank you for your consistently good service to this Committee as well as your excellent service to our country. You are a great example of public service at its best.

"Let me just say that the jobs report that we saw last December had lots of good news, and a lot of that good news is reflected in the Congressional Budget report that we're looking at today. Jobs grew last year at the fastest pace since 1999. Indeed, we've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade. Our deficits have been cut by two-thirds. The stock market has doubled. Gas prices are down. And health care inflation is at its lowest rate at any time in the last 50 years. And in 2014, ten million Americans will have the security of health coverage that they can afford.

"That's all good news. And the Congressional Budget Office has told us in previous hearings that a number of initiatives taken by the President and this Congress contributed to that good news, including the passage of the Recovery Act as well as other emergency economic measures that were taken. It is certainly a good thing that we did not pursue the advice of some that we embark on an austerity program, that we deeply cut back at a time when the economy was struggling, that we adopt the measures that our European colleagues were taking. In fact, I recall many a time in this Committee when our Republican colleagues were providing us with that kind of advice, including a report that was done by the Republican staff of the Joint Economic Committee that said we should follow the example of Europeans and just cut, cut, cut.

"Well, the reality is that as of today, since 2010, more jobs have been created in the United States than in Europe, Japan, and all advanced economies combined. Good thing we pursued a different course. And the American people know that we've seen lots of good news, and all the talking down of the economy won't convince them otherwise.

"However, there is, as my colleague Chairman Price indicated, one area where we've seen persistent stubborn problems. And that is in the area of wage stagnation. This is not a new problem. I mean, if you look over the period of history, you've seen wage stagnation consistently, dating way back to the late 1970s, where you saw growing labor productivity on the one hand, but relatively flat wages and frozen paychecks on the other hand. And I'm really pleased that the Chairman is looking forward to focusing as a Committee on that particular issue. And our Democrats on this Committee welcome you, Mr. Chairman, in dealing with that, because the American people are working harder than ever, but they feel like they're on a treadmill, either falling behind or running in place. And that's because despite the additional productivity, that productivity has not been translated into higher wages for the folks in the middle. If you look at where those productivity gains have gone, they've gone disproportionately to folks at the very, very high end of the income scale. So, we need to have a tax code, we need to have an economic strategy that provides for greater shared prosperity. And I look forward to working with our colleagues as we head into budget season to address that very important issue.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

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