Newsroom

THE LONG-TERM unemployment rate is at a record level. So is the federal deficit. Both of these are serious concerns. But it is possible -- in theory, anyway -- for Congress to be both compassionate and prudent. In the short term, lawmakers should resolve the logjam that has allowed federal benefits to lapse for more than 900,000 unemployed. In the longer term, they should heed the example ofHouse Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who gave a brave speech this week not only setting out the fiscal challenge but offering specific, credible suggestions for savings.

President Obama took office facing an economic crisis on a scale unseen since the Great Depression. Wall Street greed, fiscal irresponsibility during the previous Administration, and regulatory neglect all combined to crash our economy; but since then, the President and Congress have been determined to repair the damage. Our efforts have made real progress, but damage of the kind we saw last fall cant be undone in a year; an unemployment rate of 10% means that millions families continue to struggle.

In recent years, America's fiscal story has been one of steady decline -- from record surpluses to record deficits. In 2001, the federal government had a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion. Today, we are looking at a fiscal year 2009 deficit of $1.7 trillion.________________________________________________________________________

Congress's debate on the federal budget this week provided a vital opportunity to confront the severity of our country's fiscal condition. For years under the previous Administration, we put off a reckoning, and now our nation is constrained by trillions in debt and billions in interest payments.________________________________________________________________________

Over the last six years, the President and previous Congresses - after enacting the most reckless fiscal policies in American history - have turned a projected surplus of $5.6 trillion into record budget deficits and additional debt of more than $3 trillion. The total debt currently held by the United States is rapidly approaching the $9 trillion mark, with the individual share of that debt for each American nearing $30,000.________________________________________________________________________

$28,861- As of this week, this is the average share of the national debt belonging to every man, woman, and child in America; the total amount of debt our nation holds is $8.7 trillion. How did we dig ourselves into this giant hole, and more importantly, how do we get ourselves out?________________________________________________________________________

U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) marked National Small Business Week on April 11 by holding a roundtable luncheon in Clinton with representatives of the chambers of commerce from his district, which includes Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, Charles, Calvert, and St. Marys counties.________________________________________________________________________