Dole Statement in Banking Hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman
DOLE STATEMENT IN BANKING HEARING WITH FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN
July 19th, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today encouraged Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to focus on economic growth and new opportunities for North Carolina workers during a committee hearing on the Second Monetary Policy Report to Congress for 2006. The text of Dole's remarks is below:
Thank you, Chairman Shelby. Chairman Bernanke, I join my colleagues in extending you a very warm welcome.
We have seen very strong growth in our economy over the last few years - even as our nation has faced some extremely challenging times. I expect the positive economic trends will continue in the coming months and years; still, we have hard work ahead indeed to ensure that all levels and sectors of the economy benefit from this prosperity.
In just the past year, the economy has created nearly two million new jobs, and the national unemployment rate remains lower, as we have said so often, than the average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. While we are seeing a cooling of the housing sector, the other pistons of our economic engine are firing.
There have been recent reports that wages are going up, which I hope signals that wages are beginning to catch up with the dramatic increases in productivity. Also, consumer confidence has continued to rise, and the first quarter GDP results of this year were revised upwards to an impressive 5.6 percent. This has resulted in higher than expected tax revenues and a decline in the deficit. In fact, in the first nine months of fiscal year 2006 we have seen one of the highest growths in tax revenues in 25 years - second only to last year. These are indeed indicators of a robust and expanding economy; still, I share the concerns of the American people that energy prices continue to increase. There is no question these costs are putting a real strain on families and businesses. Folks also are concerned about the availability and affordability of health care. In order to address this broader problem I believe we must empower families to make health care decisions based on their specific needs and allow them greater choice over how their health care dollars are spent. We must also work to improve transparency, portability, and efficiency to better meet consumers' needs.
In addition, as our overall economy is thriving, we must be mindful that there are areas in some of our states, like North Carolina, where the economic picture is not quite as bright, where factories and businesses have closed and folks are out of jobs. In North Carolina, we have experienced a transition from our traditional manufacturing industries of textiles, tobacco and furniture to new, high growth industries such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. These new jobs, as we know, require a well educated and highly trained workforce. To this end, we must make education and job training a priority and focus our efforts on closing the gap between skilled and unskilled workers. Unfortunately, this gap has only widened since my days a Secretary of Labor, and as our economy moves forward, the opportunities for lower skilled workers are simply diminishing. It is imperative that we educate our less skilled workers so that they can take advantage of the new jobs that are being created.
I continue to have confidence that the very forces that stimulate economic growth - tax relief to spur investment, free but fair trade, ever-improving global communications, higher education and training for our workforce, and of course, hard work. These will ensure we stay on the course towards greater opportunity for North Carolina and the nation.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for being here today - I look forward to hearing from you and working with you on these and other important issues.
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