House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer Speaks at ACCF Forum

July 17, 2008

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, addressed ACCF members and their guests at an ACCF Capital Formation Forum on July 17. “President Bush has said ‘in the long run, the U.S. economy is going to be fine,’” Leader Hoyer told forum participants, but, he added, “We are certainly in a bind now.” Some have called this a “mental recession” and said we are a “nation of whiners,” but for many Americans today, the economic times are very hard. Far too many of our citizens are struggling with the high cost of food, escalating prices at the gas pump, and the prospect of losing their homes.

In order to better understand the state of the U.S. economy today and what measures Congress might pursue to address current economic problems, Leader Hoyer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) convened a meeting in July with several leading economists, including Allen Sinai, Decision Economics, Inc., Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration, and Princeton University Professor Alan S. Blinder. These top economists told policymakers that the current U.S. economic problems center on several key factors, including the drag the weakened job market is exerting on U.S. GDP growth, the $3.4 trillion drop in the net value of homes, the steep rise in energy prices, the fall in consumer confidence to levels not seen since the early 1980s, the reversal in the ability of Americans to own their own homes, and the toll the credit crunch is taking on consumer credit, among other problems.

“The truth is that we are facing a significant crisis and the road back may be long,”Congressman Hoyer said. “But there are some important steps Congress can take now to bolster our economy and we plan to press forward with several key initiatives.”

Since the housing crisis and the rise in gasoline prices are the biggest drags on the economy, House Democrats have proposed legislation in both areas to stabilize the economy. To help stem foreclosures and steady the housing market, Congress has passed, and the President has signed, bipartisan legislation to assist hundreds of thousands of families to keep their homes with safer loans. To confront the energy crisis, Leader Hoyer advocates increased domestic production of oil. Increased production could begin with the 68 million acres of land already leased by oil companies, yet sitting idle, and could also include 20 million available acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. “But over the long run,” Leader Hoyer added, “we need to develop alternative energy sources, including wind and nuclear. If we do not, the United States will continue to be at risk.”

Leading economists have also told the House Democratic leaders that another stimulus measure is needed. Temporary increases in the food stamp and LIHEAP programs, assistance to states forced to cut vital services, and projects to improve America’s infrastructure are all “on the table,” Leader Hoyer said.

“I don’t believe we are a ‘nation of whiners,’” he concluded. “We are a nation of winners—but we cannot go on as the world’s biggest borrower. We need to get serious about fiscal discipline to bring down the deficit and put our country back on the track of fiscal responsibility.”