This week has been a busy one in Congress, and I’m sure many of you have tuned in to the nightly news to see the goings-on. The House Republicans met with President Obama on Tuesday to discuss his economic stimulus bill: H.R. 1 - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. We had an excellent discussion on the work we as legislators have ahead of us to put America back on the track to prosperity.
While I am willing and ready to work with the President and Congress to find a solution to the economic crisis, we must do the right thing, and spending $825 billion in taxpayer money, mostly on programs that will not create jobs, is not the right solution. For that reason I voted against the bill; which did ultimately pass the House on Wednesday.
   In reviewing aspects of the stimulus legislation we saw that despite calls for increased spending on roads and bridges, the package included only $44 billion or 5.3% for transportation infrastructure and only $30 billion or 3.6% for highway construction. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that only 7% of the funds in this bill will be spent in the current fiscal year and less than half will be spent by the end of fiscal year 2010.
Additionally, the end goal of creating and protecting American jobs will result in a cost of $225,000 of taxpayers’ dollars for each job created or saved, compared to a cost of only $50,000 per job created in the private sector.
   I am also deeply concerned not only about the current state of the economy and the impact on the hard working families of this nation but also the debt we are laying at the feet of our children and grandchildren. We all work very hard to improve the lives of our children and the generations to come, and if we are not careful with the decisions we make in addressing the problems with our economy today we could lower the standard of living for our children in the future.
   President Obama stated in our meeting in reference to our rate of deficit spending that “the pace we are going will do irreparable harm to the economy.”  I agree with his assessment and would add that we cannot sustain the current level of deficit spending with over a $1.2 trillion deficit this year, and that does not include the proposed $825 billion in spending contained in the stimulus bill.
During consideration of the bill I voted in favor of an alternative to H.R. 1 which targets tax relief to working families and small businesses, makes unemployment benefits tax free, provides a $7500 tax credit for homebuyers with at least a 5% down payment, and includes funding for the construction of roads, bridges, water and sewer improvements, and high speed broadband for rural areas. Tax relief for families and small businesses are among the key principles that I have supported during discussions of any economic stimulus proposal that has come before Congress.
   There is still much work to be done on the stimulus legislation before Congress. It is my great hope that we can work across the aisle to include the best ideas from both parties to get the American economy moving again. I know that in true American fashion we can rise to the occasion, and get our nation moving forward.