WHAT'S NEW

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Dr. Katherine Baicker and Dr. Matthew Slaughter of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers before the Committee this morning. The subject of today's hearing is the Economic Report of the President. I would also like to note that the Joint Economic Committee and the Council of Economic Advisers share a common history, and we value our long-standing relationship with the Council.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - To date, there is no evidence that higher energy costs have "passed through" to the general price level for the economy as a whole. The economy has shown itself to be resilient to significant shocks and continues to create jobs at a steady rate. According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence, which rebounded after the hurricanes, improved further in January. Consumer confidence now stands at its highest level in more than three years. If investment spending returns to trend, the prospects for solid economic growth and job creation remain encouraging for 2006.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the Economic Report of the President on Thursday, February 16, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today.

HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Report of the President
TIME:	10:30 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, February 16, 2006
LOCATION:	2322 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSES:	Dr. Katherine Baicker, Member Council of Economic Advisers Dr. Matthew J. Slaughter, Member Council of Economic Advisers

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Extension of the 2003 tax relief legislation, and other measures to facilitate capital formation, would reduce the anti-saving bias of the income tax and thus enhance long-term economic growth, according to a new study released today by Joint Economic Committee Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Reducing Tax Impediments to Capital Formation, examines how the income tax system subjects saving and investment to multiple layers of taxation and thereby effectively raises their cost relative to consumption. Drawing on research in tax theory from a number of economists, the study concludes that the complementary economic interests of both investors and employees would be best served by reducing the bias against saving and investment in the income tax to facilitate long-term economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last year, three major hurricanes - Katrina, Rita, and Wilma - struck the U.S. Gulf Coast. In response to these disasters, Congress enacted two supplemental appropriations acts to provide a total of $62.3 billion for rescue, relief, reconstruction, and recovery operations. Federal policymakers are now changing their focus from short-term rescue and relief to long-term reconstruction and recovery. This report identifies some key considerations for evaluating such proposals.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to welcome Commissioner Utgoff and her colleagues before the Committee this morning to discuss the latest employment data.

The January employment data are good news for American workers. According to the payroll survey, employment increased by 193,000 jobs in January. Since May of 2003, more than 4.7 million jobs have been created.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - With today’s actions by the Federal Reserve to increase the federal funds rate, a pause in further interest hikes is warranted, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. With short-term and long-term term interest rates at about the same level, the flattening of the yield curve and its potential impact on the economy need to be closely evaluated by policymakers on an ongoing basis. Although underlying trends in the economy remain quite strong, the empirical work of the Federal Reserve staff on the historical impact of an inversion of the yield curve provides reason for a pause in the tightening of monetary policy.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the January employment data to be released on Friday, February 3, 2006, Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will testify. Download Press Release in PDF format

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. economy is now much more able to withstand energy price shocks than it was 25 years ago, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, Energy Prices and the Economy, examines how the U.S. economy has become more energy efficient, less energy intensive, and more resilient in recent decades. As a result, past studies suggesting that significant oil price increases would lead to sharp declines in GDP growth were not reliable guides in predicting the course of economic growth in recent years. However, higher energy prices continue to have potential negative economic effects, even if they are much less severe than during the 1970s and early 1980s.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The eleven members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) together hold 902 billion barrels of oil reserves. The world consumed about 30.3 billion barrels in 2005. Thus OPEC alone could meet the world's current rate of oil consumption for nearly 30 years, without developing additional reserves. OPEC's oil production is the least costly on earth. The five largest members of OPEC are Persian Gulf countries with production costs less than $5 per barrel. OPEC members outside the Persian Gulf have somewhat higher costs but still below $9 per barrel.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in industrial production in December is consistent with other data showing continued economic growth, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to the Federal Reserve, industrial production climbed 0.6 percent in December, rising at an annual rate of 3.8 percent for the entire fourth quarter.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New job figures released this morning show that the U.S. economic expansion is on track, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payroll employment increased by 108,000 in December, while November job growth was revised upward to 305,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate slipped to 4.9 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The economy grew at a brisk pace in the third quarter of 2005. While employment growth did sag immediately following the hurricanes, employment growth rebounded in November. Concerns that there would be a significant drop in national employment and economic growth due to the hurricanes proved to be unfounded.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is understandable that OPEC is pleased about current oil prices but exploited oil consumers have no reason to agree, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton’s remarks were in reaction to a prominent OPEC oil minister’s description of the world oil market as “beautifully balanced,” and a statement by OPEC’s president that cutting oil output before March would be “a logical proposal” worth consideration. Saxton’s statement follows:

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study released today finds that corruption is the largest single factor undermining the reduction of poverty in developing nations, Chairman Jim Saxton said. The new study demonstrates that corruption is still a serious problem and debunks recent research that attempts to downplay the extent and negative impact of corruption in many poor African countries. The new study, Aid to Africa at Risk: Covering Up Corruption, was authored by Adam Lerrick of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and the American Enterprise Institute.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Chairman Jim Saxton released Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's answers to questions submitted in connection with a recent JEC hearing at which Chairman Greenspan testified. Saxton submitted additional written questions on the difficulties identifying the neutral interest rate for monetary policy; the low level of long-term interest rates; the usefulness and interpretation of the yield curve; and the value of transparency in Federal Reserve policy.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Although some people have expressed dissatisfaction about the performance of the U.S. economy, the economic data show that since 2001 the United States has outperformed every other large developed economy. This report examines the performance of a peer group of large developed economies from 2001 to the present. The peer group includes Canada, Japan, the United States, and the twenty-five member-states of the European Union, but excludes the smaller developed economies of Australia, Iceland, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Together, the peer group produced 78 percent of the world’s GDP in 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The solid increase in November payroll employment is consistent with a host of recent figures depicting a healthy economy, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 215,000 in November, with gains occurring in many industries. The BLS diffusion index - an important measure of the breadth of employment gains - rose to 62.4 percent in November. The unemployment rate was 5.0 percent. Since May of 2003, payroll employment has increased by 4.5 million jobs.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Three waves of convergence in the communications sector offer the potential for great benefit for consumers, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Convergence in the Communications Industry: Three Fronts and What They Mean for Congress, examines how the convergence of new technologies and products is creating value for consumers and outpacing the existing regulatory structure.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The healthy pace of economic growth during the last three years continues with very strong performance in the third quarter of 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to new Commerce Department data, the U.S. economy surged at an annual rate of 4.3 percent last quarter. Meanwhile inflation, according to the Federal Reserve's preferred measure, dipped to 1.2 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has unduly restricted its production of oil and is a major factor explaining high oil prices, according to a new study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, OPEC and the High Price of Oil, examines the cartel's oil reserves, production costs, collusive practices, and failure to adequately develop its vast oil fields.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The fear that hurricanes would significantly reduce economic output in the third quarter has proven to be unfounded. The economy grew at a healthy pace. Job growth was sufficiently strong in the country overall that the expected post-hurricane drop in national employment did not materialize.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The compliance costs imposed by the U.S. individual income tax system are an excessive $83 billion per year, according to a new study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC). The JEC study, Individuals and the Compliance Costs of Taxation, examines the costs generated by the billions of hours taxpayers spend attempting to comply with an increasingly complex tax system.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Chairman Greenspan before the Committee once again to testify on the economic outlook. We appreciate the many times you have testified before this Committee, and recognize your outstanding stewardship of monetary policy during your tenure as Fed chairman.

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[Download Chairman Greenspan’s Testimony in PDF format]

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - This brief addresses why the economy is more resilient to higher energy prices today than in the past and will survey the expected economic effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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HEARING TOPIC:	"The Economic Outlook"
TIME:	9:30 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, November 3, 2005
LOCATION:	2175 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSES:	Alan Greenspan, Chairman Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing examining the employment data to be released on Friday, November 4, 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will testify.

HEARING TOPIC:	The Employment Situation: October 2005
TIME:	9:30 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, November 3, 2005
LOCATION:	2226 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSES:	Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New figures show that the U.S. economy displayed robust growth in the third quarter, while core inflation remained tame, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today's Commerce Department release indicates that the U.S. economy grew at a 3.8 percent rate in the third quarter of 2005, while core inflation as measured by a key index actually fell to 1.3 percent (The index referred to here is the core personal consumption expenditure deflator, which excludes food and energy).

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax distribution tables purport to show who wins or loses from tax legislation. These tables are a typical source of controversy during tax reform debates. Such tables typically use averages to indicate the size and direction of the tax effect. However, the use of averages alone is inappropriate because averages cannot accurately show the impact on most taxpayers within the same income classification.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chairman Jim Saxton today hailed President Bush's nomination of Dr. Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke, currently Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, is a distinguished academic economist and monetary expert. Bernanke's research has identified the benefits of central bank inflation targets, which are ranges of permissible increases in inflation as measured by a core price index.

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[Dr. Bernanke’s Prepared Statement]

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the economic outlook on Thursday, November 3, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today.

HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Outlook
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, November 3, 2005
LOCATION:	TBA
Witness:	Alan Greenspan, Chairman Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Chairman Bernanke and the members of our second panel of witnesses before the Joint Economic Committee this morning. This Committee values its long history of cooperation with the Council of Economic Advisers. The testimony today will provide a solid foundation for understanding the forces that are shaping current economic conditions as well as the economic outlook.

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[Dr. Bernanke’s Prepared Statement]

HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Outlook
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, October 20, 2005
LOCATION:	311 Cannon House Office Building

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The inflation targeting policy used by many central banks around the world maintains low inflation, increases financial market stability, and reduces risk, all factors that tend to lower interest rates, according to a new study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC). The new JEC study, Economic Effects of Inflation Targeting, examines the empirical evidence on the impact of inflation targeting as it has been implemented in a number of countries. Inflation targets typically define a range of acceptable increases in a broad inflation measure such as a core price index.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Among the many benefits offered by completing the transition to digital television would be a significant improvement in first responders' ability to communicate and coordinate in emergencies, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, The Transition to Digital Television: Setting a Hard Date, also examines how the transition would improve television programming and expand wireless technologies for broadband access and mobile applications.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the economic outlook on Thursday, October 20, Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today.

HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Outlook
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, October 20, 2005
LOCATION:	TBA
WITNESSES:	Panel I The Honorable Ben Bernanke, Chairman Council of Economic Advisers Washington, DC Panel II Dr. Mickey D. Levy Chief Economist, Bank of America New York, NY Dr. David F. Seiders Chief Economist, National Association of Home Builders Washington, DC Additional Witness to Be Announced

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The economic effects of the hurricanes will reduce the rate of economic growth in the third quarter by as much as 1.5 percentage points, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Once the initial negative economic effects of Katrina and Rita dissipate, economic activity associated with rebuilding will result in an up-tick in the rate of economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I would like to welcome Deputy Commissioner Rones of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and his colleagues before the Committee this morning to discuss the September employment data.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New IRS data show that the top half of taxpayers ranked by income continue to pay over 96 percent of Federal individual income taxes while the bottom half accounts for less than 4 percent, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The newly released data are for tax year 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the September employment data to be released on Friday, October 7, 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will testify.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will temporary reduce economic and employment growth through the end of 2005, but economic and employment growth are likely to rebound in 2006. Oil and natural gas production and distribution are recovering from severe disruptions. The U.S. economy has displayed remarkable resilience in absorbing the effects of these two hurricanes.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - This fall Congress is likely to set a definite date for the transition from analog to digital television. One of the most important reasons for setting a firm date is the need to devote additional spectrum to public safety uses. More spectrum will allow enhanced communications, including greater interoperability, faster transmission of needed information, and greater coverage. Poor communications can increase the loss of life and property associated with a disaster and delay recovery.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the near future Congress will consider legislation that sets a definite date for the transition from analog to digital television. This paper examines: 1) the benefits of making the transition, 2) the issue of providing subsidies to viewers impacted by the transition, and 3) whether legislation should also adjust the transmission requirements imposed on cable and satellite broadcasters.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should end its restrictive policies and significantly expand its production of oil, Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) said today. Last June, Saxton released a JEC report pointing out that the OPEC cartel was a major factor explaining high oil prices, partly because its members had failed to adequately develop their vast oil fields enough to meet world demand. Although OPEC investment and output have increased somewhat recently, world oil demand has increased rapidly.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Katrina will temporarily reduce economic and employment growth through the end of 2005, but economic and employment growth is likely to rebound in 2006. Despite significant infrastructure damage, maritime commerce is being restored. Oil and natural gas production are continuing to recover from severe disruptions. The U.S. economy has displayed remarkable resilience in absorbing the effects of this catastrophe.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest economic growth figures show that the expansion is strong and well-balanced, Joint Economic Committee Chairman Jim Saxton said today upon their release. GDP growth in the second quarter of 2005 increased at a rate of 3.4 percent, according to the new data released by the Commerce Department. The pace of economic expansion has picked up in recent years relative to its pace earlier in the recovery period.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Under Secretary Garman and the other expert witnesses before the Committee this morning.

With oil prices in the neighborhood of $60 per barrel, it is not surprising that there is increased interest in fuel efficiency and alternative ways of powering cars and trucks. Increased demand for oil, especially from Asia, combined with the restrictive practices of the OPEC cartel, have together created a situation where oil prices have spiked in recent months. With OPEC members only last December complaining about an "over-production" of oil, it is abundantly clear that we cannot depend on them to be reliable suppliers of petroleum. Unfortunately, according to many experts, OPEC and elevated oil prices may be with us for an extended period of time.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The economy of the People’s Republic of China is strongly influenced by the Chinese government through its extensive ownership, control, and financing of major businesses, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Overview of the Chinese Economy, examines the evolution of Chinese economic policy in recent decades and its impact on the structure of the Chinese economy.

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HEARING TOPIC:	Alternative Automotive Technologies and Energy Efficiency
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, July 28, 2005
LOCATION:	2226 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSES:	The Honorable David K. Garman Under Secretary of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Mark Chernoby Vice President, Advanced Vehicle Engineering DaimlerChrysler Corporation Mary Ann Wright Director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Programs Ford Motor Company Tom Stricker National Manager, Technical and Regulatory Affairs Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today the People’s Bank of China announced several reforms to its exchange rate regime. In response, Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee issued the following statement:

“The Chinese announcement today on revaluing the yuan relative to the dollar is a welcome step in the right direction. It appears that this announcement may signal the first of a series of moves that could lead to a more flexible dollar-yuan exchange rate. As a study I released a few weeks ago noted, a change in Chinese exchange rate policy is necessary to address the global imbalances this policy has caused.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Chairman Jim Saxton released Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s response to questions submitted in connection with a recent Joint Economic Committee hearing on the economic outlook. Saxton asked additional written questions related to the current yield curve and long-term interest rates, Federal Reserve policy after the bursting of the stock market and technology bubbles in 2000, macroeconomic effects of high oil prices, and froth in the housing market.

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[Download Chairman Greenspan’s Response in PDF format]

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Strong economic growth in recent quarters is a key reason for the surge in federal revenues and the decline in the projected 2005 budget deficit, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Office of Management and Budget released its budget projections that included an upward revision of $87 billion in federal revenues for fiscal 2005, contributing to a 14 percent increase in revenues over fiscal 2004. The projected 2005 deficit was reduced to $333 billion, or about 2.7 percent of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) also is expected to significantly reduce its 2005 budget deficit projection later this year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New data for June show that the U.S. economic expansion continues to generate jobs and reduce unemployment, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton’s remarks followed a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announcement that payroll employment climbed 146,000 in June, as the unemployment rate trended down to 5.0 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It appears likely that the Federal Reserve's increases in short-term interest rates will move these rates into a range where a reappraisal of the stance of monetary policy will soon be appropriate, Chairman Saxton said today. The Fed’s action today raising the federal funds rate 25 basis points to 3.25 percent is expected to be followed by a similar increase in August.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest figures on economic growth released today show a strong rate of expansion in the first quarter of 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The final figure for GDP growth in the first quarter was 3.8 percent, significantly higher than earlier estimates. The most recent revision was mostly due to upward adjustments to exports and residential construction.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - For three decades, OPEC has manipulated the oil market. The Persian Gulf countries sit on huge reserves of oil and are able to produce oil cheaply. The major ones, together with several non-Persian Gulf countries included in the cartel (Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Indonesia, Venezuela), openly collude to restrict the output of oil and raise the price far above their cost. From the end of World War II until the oil embargo of 1973, Arabian Light crude oil sold for less than $2.50 per barrel; then the price shot up.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bill to require that hidden subsidies provided by U.S. taxpayers to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) be included in the budget process has been introduced, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The legislation requires that the cost of these IMF subsidies be disclosed, included in the federal budget, and subject to the appropriations process. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has documented massive subsidies in IMF lending activities.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - As President Bush and many in the Congress and across the country have recognized, our current malpractice liability system does not serve the needs of patients and is in need of reform. It is not simply an issue of lowering insurance premiums for physicians. It is particularly about patient safety and quality of care, as well as reducing unnecessary health care spending.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The economy continued to expand and add jobs at a healthy rate in the first quarter of 2005. The indicators of economic activity for the months of April and May are, generally speaking, also positive. Over the last two months, government statistical agencies, the Federal Reserve Bank and research institutions released key indicators showing that the health of the economy is robust.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent data on producer and consumer prices, and leading indicators of inflation, suggest that inflation pressures are in check, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton’s remarks were largely based on the performance of leading indicators of inflation used by the Joint Economic Committee - commodity prices, foreign exchange value of the dollar, and long-term interest rates.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chairman Saxton, Vice Chairman Bennett, and members of the Committee, I am pleased to appear once again before the Joint Economic Committee. Over the past year, the pace of economic activity in the United States has alternately paused and quickened. The most recent data support the view that the soft readings on the economy observed in the early spring were not presaging a more-serious slowdown in the pace of activity. Consumer spending firmed again, and indicators of business investment became somewhat more upbeat. Nonetheless, policymakers confront many of the same imbalances and uncertainties that were apparent a year ago.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Chairman Greenspan before the Joint Economic Committee today. Chairman Greenspan's testimony will provide useful insights on the current economic expansion and the potential for further economic progress.

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[Download Chairman Greenspan’s Testimony]

   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study released today shows that the debt owed by poor nations to the international financial institutions (IFIs) can and should be written off immediately, Chairman Jim Saxton said. The study demonstrates that existing financial reserves of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the other major IFIs are already more than sufficient to write off in full the multilateral debt owed by poor countries. The study, The Debt of the Poorest Nations: A Gold Mine for Development Aid, was written by Adam Lerrick of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and the American Enterprise Institute.

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HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Outlook
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, June 9, 2005
LOCATION:	2118 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESS:	Alan Greenspan, Chairman Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Payroll employment growth continued in May, with its increase of 78,000 jobs best viewed in the context of the much larger increases in previous months, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) today also reported an increase of 376,000 in the household survey measure of employment, and slippage in the unemployment rate to a level of 5.1 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - China should take steps to revalue its currency, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton, and fellow JEC members Congressman Phil English and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter. The new JEC study, PRC's Pegged Exchange Rate Contributes to Global Imbalances, examines the operation of the Chinese currency peg, its economic effects, and its relationship to economic distortions in China as well as other countries.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the economic outlook on Thursday, June 9, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today.

HEARING TOPIC:	The Economic Outlook
TIME:	10:00 A.M.
DATE:	Thursday, June 9, 2005
LOCATION:	TBA
WITNESS:	Alan Greenspan, Chairman Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The existing U.S. corporate tax laws have grown into a patchwork of overly complex, inefficient and unfair provisions that impose large costs on corporate business. U.S. corporations seeking to minimize the costs imposed by the counterproductive provisions in the U.S. corporate tax system have adopted strategies to reduce overall tax exposure and increase profits. Such strategies include moving operations overseas, corporate inversions, transfer pricing, earnings stripping, and complex leasing arrangements, all to minimize taxation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. corporate income tax is overly complex and counterproductive, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Reforming the U.S. Corporate Tax System to Increase Tax Competitiveness, identifies several different ways the tax could be improved. These options include territorial taxation, individual and corporate income tax integration, movement toward consumption taxation, and elimination of the corporate alternative minimum tax or the corporate income tax altogether.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The considerable movement of households up and down the economic ladder displays the flexibility of the U.S. economy, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This degree of income mobility demonstrates that the U.S. is not a rigid class system in which most people are cemented into the same income group for extended periods of time.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The strong 1.4 percent increase in April retail sales is consistent with healthy economic growth, Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) said today. Saxton issued the following statement on the new data:

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent headlines reporting that the U.S. dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro prompted fears about the economic consequences of the declining value of the U.S. dollar in terms of foreign currencies. A review of the facts shows that fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar are not unusual and its current value is well within historical norms.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to welcome Commissioner Utgoff and her colleagues before the Committee this morning to discuss the latest employment data.

   The April employment data are good news for American workers. According to the payroll survey, employment increased by 274,000 jobs in April. Over the last 23 months, 3.5 million jobs have been created.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA) was designed to encourage balanced economic growth. In addition to stimulating consumer spending and short-term economic growth, the JGTRRA was intended to promote investment, capital formation and long-term growth. The efficacy of the JGTRRA has been the subject of debate in recent policy disputes and in academic and popular publications. Many of the criticisms have questioned the adequacy of the economic stimulus to increase consumer spending. The key issue, however, is whether the JGTRRA stimulated investment.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the April employment data to be released on Friday, May 6, 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will testify

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. Mark McClellan before the Committee this morning to address medical liability reform.

Dr. McClellan brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to bear on this subject. Currently, Dr. McClellan serves as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, overseeing approximately one-third of health care spending in the U.S. In addition to being a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine, Dr. McClellan is also a Ph.D. economist. He has previously served as the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and as a member of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Economic theory gives policymakers solid support for resisting tax increases and preferring spending reductions as a method of reducing the federal deficit.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on medical liability reform on Thursday, April 28, 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - “It is a pleasure to welcome Chairman Rosen of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) before the Committee this morning. Chairman Rosen’s testimony on the economic outlook continues the productive exchange between the Council and the Joint Economic Committee that has existed for many years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A regular feature of the debate over changes in the tax code is who benefits and who doesn't. Most of this debate hinges on federal government statistical tables, which employ distributional analysis to measure the effects of changes in the tax code.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Chairman Jim Saxton today released a letter addressed to the president of The World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, requesting accounting and audit documents to be delivered to the Committee in the near future.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the Economic Outlook on Thursday, April 14, 2005, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Social Security has a serious financial problem that will deteriorate if policymakers do not act to prevent it. While Social Security's income from payroll taxes currently exceeds its outgo in benefit payments, Social Security's trustees project that outgo will exceed income in 2017.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Any movement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards gold sales will be stopped by Congress and the Bush Administration, Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee predicted today. The IMF is considering gold sales as a way of covering bad loans it has made to impoverished borrowers now unable or unwilling to repay, but Congressional approval would be required.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) has obtained evidence documenting allegations of accounting irregularities at the World Bank in the 1990s, Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The new information corroborates allegations of accounting errors amounting to tens of millions of dollars made by former World Bank employees in interviews with committee staff. Some errors also caused increased interest charges on some World Bank loans. The Committee has been unable to determine whether affected borrowers were individually compensated for the full cost of these errors.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is commonly assumed that the medical liability system works as advertised: injured patients sue negligent doctors for compensation for their injuries. This assumption is the basis for arguments defending the current system. However, medical liability in practice differs greatly from theory because the system is ineffective at deterring negligent injuries and fails to justly compensate those truly harmed by negligent injuries, thereby providing compelling grounds for serious medical liability reform.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Allegations of accounting problems at the World Bank will be reviewed by the Joint Economic Committee, Chairman Jim Saxton announced today. According to former World Bank employees interviewed by committee staff, there have been a number of problems with World Bank financial accounting practices, some of which go back many years. Several of these allegations have been reported by the Dow Jones news service.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jim Saxton was elected today as Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) by its members. Senator Robert Bennett was elected as Vice Chairman.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The upward revision in fourth quarter 2004 economic growth to 3.8 percent shows the continuing strength of the U.S. economy, incoming Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee said today. An earlier advance estimate of growth in gross domestic product (GDP) seemed to show the economy decelerating.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's first presentation of its inflation projections over a two year time horizon suggests progress in the direction of inflation targeting that is encouraging, incoming Joint Economic Committee Chairman (JEC) Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Key economic information, critical in assessing the overall economic outlook, was released by government agencies in recent days. Specifically, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released the “advance” fourth quarter real GDP number, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on labor market conditions in its January Employment Report, and the Federal Reserve reported on the monetary policy decisions made at its February FOMC meeting.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress would reject any proposal by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to sell gold unless it is in the form of restitution to donor countries, incoming Joint Economic Committee (JEC) chairman Jim Saxton predicted today. Under restitution, the profits from gold sales could be returned to the donor countries, such as the U.S., in the interest of their taxpayers, instead of being retained by the IMF. Saxton plans to introduce gold restitution legislation this week, modeled after a similar bill he introduced in 1999.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Congress and the Administration examine options for tax reform, the income tax shares of various taxpayer groupings should be carefully considered, Congressman Jim Saxton said today. According to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data Saxton has released, the top half of taxpayers measured by adjusted gross income (AGI) account for over 96 percent of federal income taxes paid, while the bottom half accounts for less than 4 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Any proposal to sell gold held by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will attract intense Congressional review of IMF finances and would legally require a vote in Congress, Congressman Jim Saxton said today. The IMF reportedly is studying gold sales as a way to cover IMF debts owed by poor countries. Saxton long has favored IMF debt relief through write-offs financed out of the IMF's other resources.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent and employment increased in January, showing continued progress in the labor market, and indicating that the 2003 tax bill has worked as intended, Congressman Jim Saxton said today. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payroll employment increased by 146,000 in January, bringing total job creation over the last 20 months to 2.7 million.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Congressman Jim Saxton introduced legislation requiring the use of inflation targets by the Federal Reserve in its conduct of monetary policy. Separately, the Federal Reserve reportedly will address the issue of inflation targeting in its discussions on monetary policy to be held today and tomorrow. Under inflation targeting, the Federal Reserve would conduct monetary policy so as to keep increases in a selected price index within a certain range, for example, between one and three percent. Inflation targets are used by many major central banks around the world.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent data on economic growth show that the expansion has been boosted by strong increases in business investment, Congressman Jim Saxton said today. The U.S. economy grew at a 4.4 percent rate in 2004, boosted by a 13.4 percent jump in business software and equipment investment. Separately, new Commerce Department data released today show strong personal income growth continued in December of 2004.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Speaker Dennis Hastert named Congressman Jim Saxton the senior House member on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), a selection that under JEC rules and procedures leads to a designation as Chairman of the Committee. Saxton has served as Chairman on two previous occasions.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - More than 80 percent of the net increase in employment over the last year was in occupations that pay relatively well, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The employment data classified by occupational categories are published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest economic statistics show continued strength while inflation remains under control, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton was reacting to positive data on economic growth, manufacturing activity, personal income, consumer spending, and inflation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve should pause to fully examine the effects of its tightening of monetary policy, given the lack of inflation and potential risks to the economic outlook, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton's remarks followed the Federal Reserve's decision to raise the federal funds rate 0.25 percent to 2.00 percent, the fourth increase since June.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 337,000 increase in payroll employment in October shows that the economic expansion is on track, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In addition to the strong October employment figures, employment increases in the two previous months were revised upward. Over the last 14 months, payroll employment has increased by 2.2 million new jobs.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 3.7 percent growth in the U.S. economy in the third quarter of 2004 reflects the continued strength of the expansion, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to Bureau of Economic Analysis data released today, both consumption and investment increased at a healthy pace, while core inflation declined to levels not seen since 1962.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John Kerry's health plan would significantly increase the government's role in financing and managing health care, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, An Analysis of Senator Kerry's Health Plan, evaluates the likely impact of the proposed health plan.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Foreign investment in the U.S. and international trade in services together account for over 6 million U.S. jobs, according to a new study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new Joint Economic Committee study, Insourcing Jobs, examines the employment effects of foreign investment in the U.S., and the employment impact of exports of U.S. services. The study also finds that the annual compensation of insourced jobs tended to be above average.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New tax data reveal that the bottom half of taxpayers ranked by income currently bears the lowest Federal individual income tax burden in many decades, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income tax data show that the bottom half of taxpayers paid 3.50 percent of all Federal income taxes in tax year 2002, evidently the lowest level in half a century.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New IRS data show that the top half of taxpayers ranked by income continue to pay over 96 percent of Federal individual income taxes while the bottom half accounts for less than 4 percent, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The newly released data are for tax year 2002, and clearly reflect the bursting of the stock market bubble that began in 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Commissioner Utgoff, it is a pleasure to join in welcoming you before the committee once again.

   The September employment data have been affected by the four hurricanes that pounded the U.S. in August and September. Even so, according to the payroll survey, employment increased by 96,000 jobs in September, continuing its upward trend.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The median earnings of full-time, year-round workers are above their levels of the late 1990s, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton noted today. Since this pattern of employment represents most workers in the U.S. economy, this measure of earnings is one of the more relevant gauges of the economic well-being of American workers.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest data on manufacturing activity and construction reflect the underlying strength of the U.S. economy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The upward revision in the rate of economic growth to 3.3 percent in the second quarter of 2004 is another indication of the health of the U.S. economy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Commerce Department announced the upward revision in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. The Commerce Department statistical release also showed that over the last four quarters, the U.S. economy has expanded at a rate of 4.8 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The tax relief enacted since 2001 has pushed after-tax median income for married-couple families with two children to historic highs, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Family Income and Income Taxes During the Economic Recovery, examines the impact of the 10 percent tax bracket, expanded child credit, and marriage penalty relief on the after-tax income of such families between 2001 and 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - An International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal to provide hidden subsidies to a variety of countries, including some hostile to the U.S., was exposed today in a new study released by Joint Economic Committee Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The study examining this proposal, Opening a Back Door to Foreign Aid: The SDR Department at the IMF, was authored by Adam Lerrick of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve should refrain from further increases in interest rates until it has fully evaluated the impact of its three rate increases to date in the context of low inflation, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Federal Reserve announced it was raising the federal funds rate 0.25 percent to 1.75 percent. Saxton noted that the latest information on the leading indicators of inflation - long-term interest rates, commodity prices, and the foreign exchange value of the dollar - taken together show that inflation is under control. In addition, the recent core CPI and PPI data also reflect price stability.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in household wealth in the second quarter of 2004 reflects another advance in economic well-being in the current expansion, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The notion that the economy was in great shape through 2000 and that all its problems stemmed from policies initiated in 2001 is factually false, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton noted that the bursting of the largest stock market bubble in several generations occurred in the first quarter of 2000, and caused widespread economic damage readily visible in standard economic statistics by the second half of that year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Vice Chairman Jim Saxton welcomed remarks by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) former research director, Kenneth Rogoff, who said in a recent issue of The Economist that “the Fund would serve better if it made no loans.” Professor Rogoff's statement came at the same time as the IMF's independent evaluation office documented the negative outcome of the Fund's lending activities in Argentina. The recent developments are consistent with the Joint Economic Committee's findings regarding the counterproductive nature of IMF loan subsidies.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The employment growth in August is positive news that reflects the ongoing expansion in the U.S. economy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The latest data on manufacturing activity and construction continue to show solid economic growth, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report shows that the tax share of income for the middle fifth of households declined after 2001 to its lowest levels since at least 1979, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Under the recent tax relief legislation, the income tax as a share of income for the middle fifth also has fallen to its lowest levels in decades.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax data indicate that differences in the amount of tax benefits under recent tax relief legislation are mostly due to initial differences in the income taxes paid by various income groups, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Often figures are released showing that higher income taxpayers receive a higher average amount of income tax relief than do lower and middle income taxpayers, without disclosure of the initial amount of income taxes paid.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shows how tax relief legislation has reduced the tax burden of middle income taxpayers, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. As its title indicates, the CBO study, Effective Tax Rates Under Current Law, 2001 to 2014, focuses on changes in effective tax rates - federal taxes as a share of income - for various groups of taxpayers.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 3.0 percent advance in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the second quarter of 2004, along with data from the three preceding quarters, resulted in a growth rate of 4.8 percent over the last year, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In today's release by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the first quarter growth rate also was revised upward from 3.9 percent to 4.5 percent. Although the second quarter growth rate was somewhat lower than expected, it too is subject to revision by the BEA.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recently released data reveal that charitable bequests have reached a new all-time high since the enactment of the phased-in repeal of the estate tax, noted Vice-Chairman Jim Saxton today. The data contradict claims of opponents of estate tax repeal who have long argued that cutting the estate tax will reduce charitable bequests.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The notion that the U.S. economy was in excellent condition in 2000 is not consistent with standard data on output, manufacturing employment, earnings, the stock market and other measures, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. After the stock market bubble burst in the first quarter of 2000, the growth of output and investment plunged in the second half of the year. In the third quarter of 2000, the economy actually shrank.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A typical four-person family will receive at least $1,948 in tax benefits in tax year 2004 from tax legislation passed since 2001, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Between 2001 and 2004, the amount of tax relief for this family would amount to at least $5,480. Saxton based his remarks on a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study entitled, Income Tax Savings for Middle-Income Families, which examines how the 10 percent tax rate, marriage penalty relief, and expanded child credit affect a four-person, married-couple family.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressional interest in price stability legislation goes back many decades to the early years of the Federal Reserve, according to a new study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, Price Stability and Inflation Targets: A Legislative History, examines the history of Congressional efforts to mandate price stability in monetary policy, culminating in the development of the first inflation targeting legislation, which was introduced by Saxton in 1997.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new Census Bureau study showing the extent of the movement of households between different income groups over a relatively short period provides much useful information to policymakers and the public, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The study ranks surveyed households by 1996 income levels, from lowest to highest, divides the total number of households into fifths (quintiles), and assigns households to the appropriate income quintile, from the lowest to the highest.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - An examination of employment data for the last year indicates that most of the net increase in employment is in relatively well-paid occupations, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The employment data classified by occupational categories are published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The June payroll employment increase pushes the total employment gain since last August up to 1.5 million, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to new data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payroll employment increased 112,000 in June. Saxton also noted that monthly variation in payroll employment growth is not at all unusual.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The continued expansion of manufacturing activity in June provides more evidence of the strength and breadth of the economic upswing, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to data released today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the level of its index of manufacturing activity was 61.1 percent in June. The Institute noted that “the manufacturing sector grew at a slightly slower, but still aggressive rate in June.” Index values above 50 indicate expansion of manufacturing activity.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - An examination of recent employment growth by occupation reveals that most of the net increase in employment reflects job growth in occupations that pay relatively well, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also noted today's release of other data showing that disposable personal income increased at a 4.9 percent rate in the first quarter of 2004, after adjustment for inflation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The strength of the U.S. economy is documented in a new report released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The report, Current Economic Conditions and Outlook, examines the health of the economy using a wide variety of standard measures of output, employment, financial markets, manufacturing, housing, and inflation. Over the last three quarters, output (GDP) has grown 5.6 percent after adjustment for inflation, manufacturing has rebounded, and employment has surged.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The May rise in industrial production provides yet more evidence of strong economic performance, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to new Federal Reserve data released today, industrial production -- the output of manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities -- increased by 1.1 percent last month. Meanwhile, manufacturing output advanced by 0.9 percent, nearly reaching its peak of June 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Strong retail and food services sales in May provide the latest sign of healthy economic growth, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Commerce Department released new data showing a sizeable 1.2 percent gain in retail and food services sales last month.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The need for President Ronald Reagan’s economic policies was displayed in the bipartisan 1980 annual report of the Joint Economic Committee, entitled Plugging in the Supply Side, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today in re-releasing this report. The report noted the slowdown in the economy then underway, the acceleration of inflation, and the need for tax cuts to boost saving, investment, and economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to welcome Commissioner Utgoff once again to testify on the monthly employment statistics.

   This morning the Commissioner brings more good news for American workers. According to the establishment survey, payroll employment increased by 248,000 in May. Furthermore, upward revisions pushed the level of March job gains to 353,000, and April job growth to 346,000. Manufacturing employment increased by 32,000 in May. So far this year, payroll employment has increased by more than 1 million jobs.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The hearing room has been changed to 1334 Longworth House Office Building.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The most recent economic data reflect broad strength in the economy, including in the manufacturing sector, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity increased to 62.8 percent in May, “continuing its recent strong performance,” according to the Institute. Separately, today new Census Bureau data showed that construction spending in April posted a new record high, and last week an upward revision pushed first quarter GDP growth to 4.4 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000 was the primary factor sowing the seeds of economic weakness for several subsequent years, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Macroeconomic Performance Since 2000, analyzes how the impact of the bursting stock market bubble undermined investment and economic growth, and aggravated ongoing problems in the manufacturing sector.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new analysis identifying massive loan subsidies provided to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) underscores the need for improved U.S. budgetary treatment of IMF subsidies as well as for IMF lending reforms, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton has introduced legislation, H.R. 3533, to more fully account for the costs of U.S. participation in the IMF, and make them subject to annual appropriations.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bursting of the stock market and technology bubbles four years ago in 2000 led to a sharp economic slowdown and stagnation of income growth, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The stock market bubble had encouraged over-investment by reducing the cost of capital, but its bursting led to a dramatic decline in investment that hobbled the economy for several years. Between its peak in early March and the last week of May 2000, the bursting of the largest stock market bubble in several generations resulted in a drop of over 1,700 points in the Nasdaq, a decline of 35 percent. This stock market collapse continued in 2000, as its effects spilled over into many other areas of the economy.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 0.8 percent rise in industrial production for April is another sign of the economy's strength in the second quarter, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The new data also reflect an increase of 0.7 percent in manufacturing output in April, its eighth increase in a row. Saxton based his statement on a Federal Reserve release of new data on industrial production - a measure of the output of manufacturing, mines and utilities.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Commissioner Utgoff once again to testify on the monthly employment statistics.

   According to the payroll survey, employment increased by 288,000 in April, following a revised gain of 337,000 in March. The April payroll employment gains were broad based, as reflected in the diffusion index remaining well over 50 in April. The one-month diffusion index has been above 50 for the last four months. Manufacturing employment increased for the third consecutive month. Overall, 1.1 million payroll jobs have been created since last August.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the April employment data to be released on Friday, May 7, 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), will testify.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released data on manufacturing activity show that economic strength continued into the second quarter of 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The respected Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of manufacturing activity was 62.4 percent in April. Index levels in excess of 50 percent reflect expansion of manufacturing activity. In addition, new March construction data posted an all-time high.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 4.2 percent first quarter growth rate reported by the Commerce Department is consistent with a broad array of other economic data showing a healthy and balanced economic expansion, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The first quarter increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) reflects continued strength in the U.S. output of goods and services, adjusted for inflation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The G7 nations’ call for a strategic review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was welcomed today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Saxton has longed advocated reform of IMF policies, including a focus on crisis lending and an end to IMF loan subsidies. In 1998, Saxton also pointed out the amazing lack of IMF accounting controls and lending safeguards through its entire history of sizeable bailouts. Saxton recently introduced legislation requiring that IMF loan subsidies be presented in the annual budget submission and subject to annual appropriations.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A new study released by Lipper, Inc. examining the taxation of mutual fund investors was welcomed today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC). The Lipper study, Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004, finds that taxes are the largest drag on shareholder returns over the long run. Several years ago Saxton developed and introduced the first legislation providing for tax deferral on reinvested capital gain distributions made by mutual funds to individual shareholders.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It gives me great pleasure to join in welcoming Chairman Greenspan once again before the Joint Economic Committee.

   The evidence shows that the U.S. economy has displayed amazing resilience in recent years, and has now emerged from a painful adjustment process. The bursting of the stock market and technology bubbles began in 2000. The subsequent economic slowdown and recession, terrorist attacks, and wars harmed the economy, but did not prevent the current economic expansion, which began in November of 2001.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal tax cuts of the last few years have put the United States near or at the top among advanced large economies in offering incentives to work, save, and invest, according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton.

   The new study, How Competitive Is the U.S. Tax System?, compares major tax rates in 2003 in the United States versus those in the world's eight other largest advanced economies: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The misery index, a gauge of economic well-being widely used by economists for decades, remains more favorable than in most years of the last three decades, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The misery index is the sum of the civilian unemployment rate and the inflation rate. Since both unemployment and inflation are undesirable, the lower the misery index, the better. In 2003, the misery index was about 7 percent, a fraction of its 20 percent level reached in 1980, for example. Saxton has periodically taken note of the level of the misery index as an indicator of economic well-being, most recently in a report he released last February.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Taxes, not fees and expenses, remain the biggest cost to mutual fund shareholders, according to a new study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. A most serious tax impact comes from how income taxes on capital gain distributions significantly reduce investment returns, according to the new JEC study, Providing Tax Equity for Mutual Fund Investors: Changing the Tax Treatment of Capital Gain Distributions. This tax liability occurs when mutual funds realize capital gains that then must be passed on to mutual fund shareholders, even if the investors sold none of their mutual fund shares.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - I am pleased to welcome Commissioner Utgoff once again before the Joint Economic Committee.

   The figures released this morning are good news for American workers. According to the payroll survey, employment increased by 308,000 in March. Moreover, payroll employment growth was revised upward to 159,000 in January and 46,000 in February. The data reported today show that 759,000 jobs have been added to payrolls since August 2003. The BLS describes the unemployment rate as about unchanged.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The March increase in a respected index of manufacturing activity offers further confirmation of the strength of the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) today released data showing that its index of manufacturing activity (PMI) climbed 1.1 percentage points to a level of 62.5 percent in March. The ISM index of manufacturing employment increased for the fifth month in a row to a level of 57.0 percent. Index levels above 50 percent indicate expansion.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) will hold a hearing on the March employment data to be released on Friday, April 2, 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) announced today. Dr. Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will testify.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The contention that the tax relief legislation of recent years caused the swing from the large surpluses projected in 2001 to large deficits is contradicted by the facts, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton pointed out that the static revenue cost of this tax legislation would have left significant surpluses throughout the decade. Huge economic and technical re-estimates, including the effects of the bursting of the stock market bubble and the economic slowdown and recession, as well as terrorist attacks, wars, and other factors, have erased the surpluses and pushed the budget into deficit. In January of 2001, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected $5.6 trillion in cumulative budget surpluses through 2011, but economic and technical revisions alone reduced this amount by over $3 trillion.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The pattern of economic slowdown following the bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000 has been very similar in the major advanced economies, according to a new study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. After the sharp decline in the stock markets of the advanced economies, investment slowed dramatically, industrial production fell, and unemployment increased in all, according to the new Joint Economic Committee study, International Economic Performance Since the Stock Market Bubble. The study also shows that in the subsequent expansion period, the U.S. economy has performed relatively well compared to the other advanced economies. The study examines the macroeconomic performance of the U.S., European Union, Japan, and Canada.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today’s Federal Reserve statement and the inevitable speculation about its meaning for future changes in monetary policy illustrate the need for inflation targeting, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said. Saxton has introduced H.R. 2547, a bill to encourage the Fed to use inflation targets in setting monetary policy geared towards price stability.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's release of new data showing an increase in February industrial production is in line with other data showing that healthy economic growth continues in 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to the Fed release, industrial production climbed 0.7 percent in February, while manufacturing production gained 1.0 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Argentina's narrow avoidance of a default to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 9 highlights the need to recognize the risk in lending by international financial institutions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton has introduced legislation, H.R. 3533, requiring that the real cost of U.S. subsidies to the IMF be disclosed in the federal budget, and made subject to the Congressional appropriations process.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to join in welcoming the panel of witnesses appearing before the Joint Economic Committee today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The most important legacy left by resigning International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Horst Koehler is the implementation of critically needed IMF lending safeguards and accounting controls, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. One of the reasons Saxton had opposed the 1998 quota increase for the IMF was a Joint Economic Committee staff discovery that basic IMF lending safeguards and accounting controls had not been in place throughout the IMF's entire history of lending.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John Kerry's claims that Bush Administration policies have caused the decline in manufacturing employment are contradicted by the fact that this trend began years before the current Administration or its policies were in place, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Manufacturing employment has trended downward for many years, but reached a recent cyclical high in March of 1998.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New figures showing increases in February manufacturing activity released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) provide more evidence that the manufacturing sector expansion continues, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The ISM survey of manufacturing activity remained at a high level in February, although below the very high level posted in January. The ISM index of manufacturing employment reflected growth for the fourth month in a row. The ISM releases today are of diffusion indexes that denote expansion when index values are above 50.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Vice Chairman Jim Saxton released a new Joint Economic Committee report today showing the strength of the economy as reflected in a wide variety of standard macroeconomic measures. The report, Current Economic Conditions and Outlook, examines recent trends in economic growth, investment, consumption, housing, the stock market, employment, inflation, interest rates, and other economic indicators.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator John Kerry's recent attempts to blame declines in manufacturing employment on Bush Administration policies are misleading because this downward trend was well underway before President Bush and his policies were even in place, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton pointed out that by the time President Bush took office, over half a million manufacturing jobs had already been lost in the preceding 33 months, and about three fifths of manufacturers surveyed were reporting declines or stagnation in their payrolls. Manufacturing employment reached a cyclical peak of 17.6 million in March of 1998, and has trended downward ever since.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The current medical liability system is a cause of insurance and health cost increases and restricts access to health care, making medical liability reform imperative, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton has released two Joint Economic Committee studies on the subject: Liability for Medical Malpractice: Issues and Evidence, and Medical Malpractice Reform: Perspectives on Recent Findings by the GAO.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released figures on industrial production provide more hard evidence that the expansion continues into 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. A new Federal Reserve release shows that industrial production increased in January, and that its manufacturing component was up 0.3 percent. Since January 2003 manufacturing production has increased 2.3 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The contention that the current structure of the income tax is designed to favor the affluent is a myth refuted by IRS data, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to the latest data available, the top one percent of tax filers ranked by income account for 33.9 percent of all personal income tax payments, while the top half account for 96.0 percent of these taxes. The bottom half of tax filers account for 4.0 percent of all income tax payments, excluding the impact of refundable tax credits that would further reduce this percentage. The threshold dividing the top and bottom halves of tax filers is an income level of $28,528.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The rise in employment and decline in unemployment continued in January, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey, the unemployment rate slipped to 5.6 percent in January, while employment increased by 496,000. The Bureau's payroll measure of employment also increased, but by a more moderate amount of 112,000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - New data from the respected Institute for Supply Management (ISM) show the economic expansion continues to accelerate into 2004, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton referred to both the ISM index of manufacturing as well as the ISM index of non-manufacturing activity. Both indexes have recently reached levels in excess of the boom years of the late 1990s.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A typical four-person family will receive at least $1,933 in tax benefits this tax filing season from tax legislation passed since 2001, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In addition, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study Saxton released, the benefits to this family between 2001 and 2004 would amount to at least $5,480. The study, Income Tax Savings for Middle-Income Families, examines how the 10 percent tax rate, marriage penalty relief, and expanded child credit would affect a four-person, married-couple family.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The solid 4 percent real growth rate posted in the fourth quarter of 2003 shows that the economic expansion is on a firm footing, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also noted the continued strength of business investment as an indication that solid economic growth would continue into 2004.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The tax relief legislation passed in recent years has provided thousands of dollars in tax savings to typical families and should not be tampered with, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today in releasing a new study on the topic. The study, Income Tax Savings for Middle-Income Families, focuses on the impact of recent tax changes on four person, married couple families.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Adoption of inflation targets by the Federal Reserve would reduce uncertainty and clarify the framework for monetary policy decisions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In the absence of such a framework, even small nuances of change, as in today's policy statement, will be subject to intense scrutiny about their precise meaning. Saxton has introduced H.R. 2547, a bill to encourage the Fed to use inflation targets in setting a monetary policy geared towards price stability.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Virtually all of the net payroll job loss in recent years is accounted for by the manufacturing sector, and this decline in factory jobs began before the current Administration took office, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Opponents of the Administration have repeatedly claimed that its policies have caused the decline in manufacturing employment, but fail to explain how this trend began long before any changes in policy took place. The facts show that manufacturing employment reached a cyclical peak in 1998, trending downward thereafter. Consecutive monthly declines in manufacturing employment began in 2000. Moreover, manufacturing employment has been trending downward over a much longer period.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Medical malpractice insurance continues to be plagued by rapidly escalating premiums, which in turn threaten the availability and affordability of medical care, according to Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Two recent studies confirm that these problems persisted through 2002 and 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax distribution tables are often incomplete, biased and misleading and thus should not drive U.S. tax policy, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, A Comparison of Tax Distribution Tables: How Missing or Incomplete Information Distorts Perspectives, is the latest product of a JEC research program on tax distribution issues. Tax distribution tables are typically used to project and allot changes in taxation to specific income groups, but often omit basic information such as the share of taxes paid by such groups before and after a given tax measure takes effect.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The existence of budget deficits does not have a major impact on interest rates, according to a new Joint Economic Committee study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton.

   The evidence and analysis presented in the study explain why interest rates could have fallen to historically low levels in recent years even as large budget deficits emerged in the wake of the 2000 bursting of the stock market bubble, the economic slowdown, and significant increases in federal spending on national security. The evidence in the new study, Federal Borrowing and Interest Rates, indicates that the strength of the economy, and inflationary expectations, are much more important influences on the level of interest rates than are budget deficits.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 0.9 percent increase in November industrial and manufacturing production released by the Federal Reserve indicates that the manufacturing sector continues to share in the acceleration of the overall economy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The value of the stock market has increased by $4.2 trillion since the trough of October 2002, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This increase in the market capitalization of the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq translates into a percentage increase of 39 percent between October of 2002 and December 9, 2003.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly revised data released by the Commerce Department reveal that the U.S. economy was in decline in the third quarter of 2000, before posting a small increase in the fourth quarter of the year, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Commerce Department data show that real GDP fell at a 0.5 percent rate in the third quarter of 2000, pulling down the growth rate for the second half of that year. In the second quarter of 2000, real GDP had risen at a rate of 6.4 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The intense scrutiny given to every word and nuance in the Fed's monetary policy announcement would not be necessary if the Fed moved toward a more transparent framework of inflation targets, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Inflation targets set a permissible range for future inflation as an objective of central bank monetary policy, and are successfully used by many central banks around the world.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in employment during November raises the number of payroll jobs created since July to 328,000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. He noted that November payroll growth has occurred across a broader group of industries than in previous months this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today that the household measure of employment increased by 589,000 in November, and the unemployment rate slipped to 5.9 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - A recent medical malpractice report is incomplete and lends itself to misinterpretation, according to a new Joint Economic Committee analysis released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The report, issued in August by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), has been cited in numerous press accounts as evidence that there is no medical malpractice crisis. The new Joint Economic Committee policy brief, entitled Medical Malpractice Reform: Perspectives on Recent Findings by the GAO, shows that much of this coverage has ignored important elements of the GAO report, as well as flaws in certain aspects of the report itself.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in manufacturing activity posted in November is consistent with other data showing expansion in the manufacturing sector, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The data were released today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), and signal growth in manufacturing employment for the first time since fall 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The upward revision to the already robust economic growth in the third quarter of 2003 is welcome news, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The rate of real GDP growth in the third quarter was revised upward from 7.2 percent to 8.2 percent. In addition, a new release of consumer confidence figures for November, showing a large ten point monthly gain to 91.7 percent, supplements other data showing continued strong growth in the fourth quarter, though probably not at the unsustainable rate posted in the third quarter of the year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation requiring that the hidden subsidies provided to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the U.S. be included in the budget process has been introduced, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The legislation, H.R. 3533, requires that the cost of these subsidies be estimated, included in the budget, and subject to annual appropriations. Last week Saxton released a financial analysis showing that the value of these IMF subsidies to U.S. taxpayers is currently about $2 billion annually.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The decline in new weekly jobless claims and the rise in the index of leading economic indicators are consistent with other data showing continued healthy economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The hidden costs incurred by the United States through its contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should appear as expenditures in the budget and be considered by Congress in the appropriations process, according to a study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new study, Funding the IMF: How Much Does It Really Cost?, was written by Adam Lerrick of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 0.2 percent October increase in industrial production released this morning is consistent with other recent economic data showing that the improvement in economic conditions has continued into the fourth quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also commented on the 2.1 percent production increase in computer and related products in October, and the 15.5 percent increase over the last year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today's employment report is good news for American workers. Payroll employment increased 126,000 in October, while the September increase was revised upward to 125,000. October marks the third consecutive increase in payroll employment after accounting for the revised increase in August. The household measure of employment increased by 441,000 in October, while the unemployment rate slipped one tenth of a percentage point to 6.0 percent. The improvement in the employment data reported today reflects the progress made in emerging from the economic slowdown of recent years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Those who compare recent economic conditions and policies to those of the Hoover era should recall the mistakes made in the Revenue Act of 1932, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Instead of reducing the tax burden, Congress passed and President Hoover signed into law steep increases in personal income tax rates, estate tax rates, and many other items.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released manufacturing and construction data are consistent with the robust 7.2 percent GDP growth rate posted in the third quarter of 2003, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index of manufacturing activity climbed to a level of 57.0 in October, while the Commerce Department reported that construction spending jumped to a new record high in September. The ISM index has been above 50 for four months, denoting expansion of manufacturing activity.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The third quarter economic growth rate of 7.2 percent is the most rapid since the first quarter of 1984, showing that the U.S. economy is very strong and that the recent tax legislation has worked as intended, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The growth reported today builds on the respectable 3.3 percent real GDP growth rate posted in the second quarter.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The ongoing controversies over the content and meaning of the Fed statements issued after its monetary policy meetings would be greatly reduced by the Fed moving in the direction of inflation targeting, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Inflation targets typically are ranges of permissible increases in inflation, for example, between 1 and 3 percent, in a broad price index. Inflation targets are used by the central banks of many nations around the world.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The improvement in the stock market since its trough in October of 2002 has added $3.7 trillion in market capitalization to the market, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. This figure is based on increases in the value of stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq through the end of last week.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The openness to various forms of inflation targeting in monetary policy voiced at a recent St. Louis Federal Reserve conference last Friday is encouraging, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton of the Joint Economic Committee said today. Inflation targets are typically ranges of permissible increases in a selected broad price index. For example, such a target could be set to permit increases of between 1 and 3 percent in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index. Saxton has introduced legislation, H.R. 2547, to provide flexible inflation targets in monetary policy. Under discussion last Friday were various options to provide soft targets that would not be excessively rigid and would permit flexibility to respond to changing macroeconomic conditions.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. economy is currently growing strongly and the economic outlook has improved significantly, according to a new report released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The new Joint Economic Committee report, Current Economic Conditions and Outlook, examines recent macroeconomic trends using a wide variety of economic indicators.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tax increase advocates who assert the recent tax relief legislation should be reversed because it shifts the tax burden from upper to middle income households are mistaken, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton pointed out that the income tax system is highly progressive, and that the share of income taxes paid by upper income taxpayers actually increased somewhat under the 2003 tax relief bill.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in September payroll employment is good news, which if sustained in coming months, may signal a turning point in labor market conditions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 57,000 increase in payroll employment and a revision for the August data that exceeded market expectations. The unemployment rate was unchanged. Unfortunately, the string of manufacturing employment declines that began in the summer of 2000 continued in September, although at a slower pace.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The increase in real median household income after taxes in 2002 reflects the benefits of tax relief legislation provided to middle income Americans, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. According to this measure, after-tax income increased from $35,563 in 2001 to $35,812 in 2002. The rebound in 2002 left real median household income at a relatively high level, a level higher than those reached in the boom period leading up to 1998. This measure peaked in 1999, before the decline that started in 2000. The median measures income in the middle: half of households have incomes above the median, and half below the median. The data are adjusted for inflation.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - According to new Census Bureau data, after-tax median household income in 2002 was among the highest on record, and higher than in all years of the prior decade through 1998. The new Census data have been revised to fully account for the effects of the 2001 tax legislation. Half of all households have incomes above the median, and half below the median.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The top half of taxpayers continue to pay over 96 percent of Federal income taxes, while the bottom half accounts for slightly less than 4 percent, according to new 2001 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The impact of the stock market collapse that began in 2000, and the economic slowdown and recession that followed, are clearly visible in the data, especially for the income and tax shares of upper income taxpayers.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The stagnation in income growth for middle income Americans that started in 2000 continues, according to comprehensive measures of income released by the Census Bureau today. There are various ways to measure the middle income of households, referred to as median household income. This median is the income value of households in a ranking where half of all households have lower income, and half have higher income.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Analysis of annual changes in income and taxes should take into account the considerable movement of households between different income levels reflected in Census Bureau data that Vice Chairman Jim Saxton released today. The data from the Census Bureau show that about one-third of households change income groups in as little as one year, a pattern that has remained fairly constant over the years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The shares of income taxes actually paid by various income groups should be the basis for evaluating claims about the fairness of income tax relief, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Recent tax relief legislation currently is under attack as purportedly tilted, but this argument typically is made without disclosure of the shares of income taxes actually paid by various income groups. According to Internal Revenue Service data, taxpayers in the top half of tax filers, ranked by adjusted gross income (AGI), bear nearly all of the income tax burden.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Comparisons of the effects of tax legislation on taxpayers in various income groups often misrepresent the impact of the tax system on most taxpayers, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. According to the study, The Misleading Effects of Averages in Tax Distribution Analysis, such comparisons are often misleading because the average tax liabilities commonly used are very different from the income tax liabilities actually borne by most taxpayers in each income group. The study is a statistical analysis of Internal Revenue Service income tax data from its Statistics of Income division.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The artificially low interest rates charged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be adjusted to reflect market risk, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton previously had criticized the granting of IMF interest subsidies to Argentina, which defaulted to the IMF yesterday.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Howard Dean and fellow critics of current Administration economic policies were again challenged by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton to explain how the economic deterioration that began in 2000 was caused by policies only adopted in the middle of 2001. Dean and several others have sought to blame the job losses of recent years on the policies of the Bush Administration, but a variety of data on stock prices, GDP, industrial production, manufacturing activity, and many other measures show that an economic slowdown was underway well before President Clinton left office. As Saxton has pointed out many times previously, most of the job losses in recent years have been in the manufacturing sector, a sector that was in sharp decline in 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Commissioner Utgoff, it is a pleasure to join in welcoming you before the Joint Economic Committee. The August employment data reflect the past weakness in the economy. Payroll employment declined by 93,000, including a drop of 44,000 in the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate slipped to a level of 6.1 percent.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Former Governor Howard Dean was challenged today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton to explain the deterioration in the economy already underway in 2000, before President Clinton left office. Saxton again referred to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recently introduced inflation targeting legislation addresses the need for flexibility in monetary policy, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The bill, H.R. 2547, would enhance transparency in monetary policy while providing ample discretion for Fed officials to manage economic risks.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Partisan attacks on Administration economic policy by Senator John Kerry and other presidential candidates fail to acknowledge the fact that tax relief legislation did not push the budget into deficit, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Instead, the bursting of the financial bubble in 2000, and the related economic slowdown and recession that followed, are the main factors pushing the budget into deficit. In other words, these economic factors changed the budget situation; a changed budget situation did not cause the economy to deteriorate, as some suggest.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reforms are needed to ensure that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank provide benefits in excess of their taxpayer costs, according to a new paper released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The paper, What Future for the IMF and the World Bank?, examines how the functions of the IMF and World Bank should be refocused and reformed to improve the economic well being of citizens of their client countries. The paper was authored by distinguished economist Dr. Allan H. Meltzer, who served as Chairman of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The tax bills passed during the Bush Administration did not push the budget into deficit, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton noted today. The budget effects of the 2000 stock market plunge, the economic slowdown and recession, and additional federal spending, are the factors that account for the swing from budget surpluses to budget deficits. Without these factors, the tax legislation would have left large surpluses throughout this decade.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The flexibility in Federal Reserve monetary policy signaled by Chairman Greenspan today is welcome given current economic conditions, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said. In Congressional testimony Greenspan made clear that the Fed is ready to ease monetary policy again if necessary to preempt potentially deflationary pressures.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000 has had long-lasting negative effects on business investment and economic growth, according to a new study released today by Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The soaring stock market had encouraged and facilitated increases in business investment up to its peak in early 2000, but the popping of the bubble reversed this process. For most of the period since 2000, business investment has been a drag on economic growth. The new study, Economic Repercussions of the Stock Market Bubble, examines the relationship between the stock market bubble, business investment, and economic growth.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent attacks on current economic policy made by former governor Howard Dean, Senator Bob Graham, and other presidential candidates ignore the deterioration in the economy already underway by 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton referred them to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Turnover in the group of the top 400 taxpayers is extremely high, according to new tax data obtained by the Joint Economic Committee and released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Although changes in the income and taxes of the 400 highest income (adjusted gross income) taxpayers for years 1992-2000 have been reported as front page news in recent days, such comparisons are essentially meaningless because the membership of this group changes so dramatically every year. According to the new data, of 400 top tax returns in tax years 1992-2000, 75.7 percent would not have been among the top 400 more than once. Even more tellingly, less than one percent of the members of the top 400 were among this group every year from 1992 to 2000.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Newly released tax return data on 400 high-income taxpayers should not be directly compared with data from other tax years because the turnover rates of these taxpayers are so high, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Some current media accounts of 2000 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax data for 400 high income tax returns rely on comparisons of income and taxes between various tax years, even though the taxpayers comprising this group have changed dramatically over the years.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's adoption of inflation targets would clarify monetary policy decisions and reduce uncertainty in a low inflation environment, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton last week introduced legislation, H.R. 2547, to mandate use of inflation targets by the Federal Reserve.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - he unduly negative portrayals of the long-term U.S. budget outlook fail to fully account for future revenue flows according to a new paper by Dr. Michael Boskin, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. The forthcoming National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper examines the future revenue implications of withdrawals from tax-deferred saving and investment plans, pensions, and other items. Reportedly, by 2040 Boskin estimates that the value of these deferred taxes could amount to trillions of dollars.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Inflation targeting by the Federal Reserve would be mandated by new legislation, H.R. 2547, introduced by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Inflation targeting has been used by many central banks around the world to guide monetary policy. Inflation targets are typically ranges of permissible increases in prices in a selected price index. For example, an inflation target could be set to permit increases of between 1 and 3 percent in the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The positive effects of repealing the estate tax should be made permanent, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today in releasing a new study on this tax with Rep. Jennifer Dunn. The study, The Economics of the Estate Tax: An Update, documents the damage inflicted by the estate tax on capital formation, thrift, continuity of small businesses, and the environment. Under current law, the damaging effects of the estate tax are reduced, and the tax would be repealed in 2010, only to come back to 2001 levels in the next year.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Reserve actions to ease monetary policy are still needed to ensure price stability, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today.

   "The Fed's Open Market Committee should ease monetary policy when it meets next week," Saxton said. "The U.S. economy remains somewhat weak, and downward pressures on prices continue.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Essential components of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) framework to forecast financial crises "performed poorly" or were inaccurate, according to a new General Accounting Office (GAO) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Saxton and Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley requested the GAO study, International Financial Crises: Challenges Remain in IMF's Ability to Anticipate, Prevent, And Resolve Financial Crises.

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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Argentina's depression of 1998 to 2002, whose effects linger today, was not a failure of free markets, as some observers have claimed. Rather, it resulted from blunders in economic policy that impeded economic growth, explains a new Joint Economic Committee study titled Argentina's Crisis: Causes and Cures.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to join in welcoming the witnesses before us today. The economic reconstruction of Iraq poses many policy questions that merit the attention of this Committee.

   Iraq's economy had been shrinking for years under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Extensive ownership, control, and influence of business by the government, its officials, and political cronies undermined economic growth. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait resulted in economic sanctions and the oil-for food program. Although the recent war has resulted in some economic damage, Iraq's economic situation today is similar to that of the Eastern European countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. New institutions are needed that are compatible with a market economy and improved prospects for economic growth.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Criticism of Administration economic policy by its opponents fails to consider the economic deterioration underway in 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton again referred the Minority to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve should move to ease monetary policy and bolster price stability at its June 24th-25th policy meeting, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton also recently released a JEC study, Monetary Policy in Low Inflation/Deflation Environments, describing options the Federal Reserve has for easing policy even when short-term interest rates are barely above zero.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The new tax bill provides the largest percentage reductions in the income taxes of low and middle income groups, and as a result, the share of total income taxes paid by upper income groups under the new tax law will increase, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton based his remarks on new figures on federal individual income taxes provided by the Treasury Department.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the outlook for expanded donor funding dim and its own debt restructuring plan essentially dead, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could play a constructive role by promoting collective action clauses in bonds offered by sovereign borrowers, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton made his remarks in connection with the release of a study from the Gailliot Center for Public Policy of Carnegie Mellon University, A Simple Means to Defuse Sovereign Default, by Adam Lerrick.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Federal Reserve's adoption of explicit inflation targets would increase the transparency of monetary policy, reduce uncertainty, and clarify the current discussion over disinflation and the risk of deflation, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. In previous Congresses, Saxton introduced legislation to mandate the use of explicit inflation targets by the Federal Reserve.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank should not be used to bail out Iraq's creditors, said Joint Economic Committee Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. Saxton made his remarks in connection with the release of a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) report, The Role of the IMF and World Bank in Reconstructing Iraq. Saxton has also introduced H.R. 2080, a bill that would block the use of IMF loans to bail out Iraq's creditors, and thereby encourage a write-down of Iraq's foreign debt.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - The new tax package agreed upon by the leadership of the House and Senate will boost economic and job growth, Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Many of the ideas in the new tax package were analyzed in a JEC study Saxton released earlier this month. Saxton also rejected criticism of the tax package today by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who recently unveiled the Minority proposal for a tax increase.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - It is a pleasure to join in welcoming Chairman Greenspan before the Joint Economic Committee once again.

   The latest economic figures indicate that the economy is still expanding, although at a slow rate. In recent years, the economy has been remarkably resilient despite terrorism, war, and pervasive uncertainty. However, one of the weakest areas in the expansion has been business investment, and until business investment rebounds the economy is not likely to expand at a vigorous rate.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal Reserve monetary policy remains a potent force even when short-term interest rates are very low, according to a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study released today by Vice Chairman Jim Saxton. The study, Monetary Policy in Low Inflation/Deflation Environments, examines the options available to the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy even when the short-term Federal Funds rate is barely positive.
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   WASHINGTON, D.C. - Recent criticism of current economic policy by former Minority Leader Gephardt, former Governor Howard Dean, and some Minority Senators ignores the extensive historical record demonstrating that the economic slowdown began in 2000, Vice Chairman Jim Saxton said today. Saxton again referred the Minority to the statement of Joseph Stiglitz, President Clinton's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, who said, "the economy was slipping into recession even before Bush took office, and the corporate scandals that are rocking America began much earlier."
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