Once again I am pleased to welcome Commissioner Abraham before the Joint Economic Committee.

      The employment data reported this morning are good news for American workers. Payroll employment was up a strong 339,000, while the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.3 percent. The data reflect the continuation of the economic expansion that began in 1991. Needless to say, this business cycle expansion was not caused by the tax increase of 1990 or 1993. The current expansion marks another phase in the cyclical pattern that has characterized the U.S. economy over its entire history.

      Another BLS statistic, the consumer price index (CPI), has been the center of growing controversy in recent months. As I have stated many times, Congress needs to closely examine the technical issues regarding the CPI before policy decisions are made in this area. A potential trillion dollars of tax increases and benefit restraint would affect too many millions of people for decisions to be made without complete information.

      This is why I requested a BLS study of the issues raised by the Boskin Commission report. We in Congress, and any new commission that may be appointed, need as much information on this subject as soon as possible. Staff discussions between the JEC and BLS have defined the scope of the forthcoming BLS study to facilitate a prompt turnaround. Obviously we will provide the BLS study to members of Congress and to any commission that may come into existence.

      In an ideal world, BLS would have as much time to complete this study as the Boskin Commission needed to complete its report. However, we do not live in an ideal world. Recent events make clear the need to accelerate the production of the BLS study. I have tried to provide a forum here at the JEC for an analytical review of the technical problems connected to the CPI, but I am frustrated that the BLS has not been able to better explain its positions on CPI issues. It also is difficult to understand why no BLS study of the Boskin Commission report was prepared for release in the weeks after this report was issued.

      The recent and forthcoming improvements in the CPI that have been under preparation for some time have not been effectively explained by BLS to the public. Given the controversy around the CPI issue, BLS needs to be much more aggressive in addressing the valid concerns of Congress and the public regarding the CPI.

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