mr. speaker , i thank the chairman for yielding me time . 
mr. speaker , i rise in support of h.r. 4297 because this legislation will ensure that our economy will continue to expand . 
that is right , expand . 
if you would listen to those on the other side of the aisle , you would think that we are in a shrinking economy . 
however , since the capital gains and dividend taxes were reduced in 2003 , we have seen ten straight quarters of what is it ? 
growth . 
now , what does growth mean ? 
it means more jobs . 
it means more opportunity . 
i spoke recently with an entrepreneur group back home , women who started businesses in their homes . 
most of them have children and did not want to be out of the house all the time , very small businesses . 
and you know what they said to me their top priority is ? 
make sure you extend the capital gains cuts . 
make sure you make sure you pass legislation that will prevent a tax increase . 
that is what we are doing today . 
preventing a tax increase on these entrepreneurs who , one by one , are creating new jobs in our economy . 
the national economy has produced impressive growth . 
our pro-growth policy will continue only if we do not increase taxes . 
in the 10 quarters prior to the passage of this legislation , we averaged just 1.2 percent of growth , never exceeded 2.9 . 
in the 10 quarters since , we have averaged 3.3 percent of growth and have averaged over 4 percent . 
now , i think 4 percent growth is better than 1 percent growth . 
and if we do not continue this tax situation and increase taxes , we will see our growth go away . 
what does this mean , this business investment that happens because of the capital gains reduction , the dividends reduction ? 
it means new jobs . 
in a district like mine where we need new jobs , and i know some members on the other side of the aisle apparently have more jobs than they need , we need jobs . 
this climate is the climate we need for growth . 
we have seen , in fact , unemployment go from 6.1 percent down over 1 point to 5 percent . 
despite challenges that this country has faced over the last couple of years , including terrorist attacks and natural disasters , we have still seen an increase of job creation . 
now , if anybody at the end of august and the beginning of september expected that we would see 215 , 000 jobs created in the united states in the last month , i do not think you are telling me the truth . 
but the good climate that was created by those cuts made it happen . 
we need to continue good policy . 
we need to realize what good policy is . 
good policy is allowing the people to invest their money , create jobs , create a strong economy and create job growth . 
i urge my colleagues to continue this situation and not allow a tax increase on the american public . 
