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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Download Chairman Greenspan's letter to Chairman Saxton

   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. - 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. - 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 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. - 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 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. - 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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   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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   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. - 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. - 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. - 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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...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 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 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. - 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. - 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. - 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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