An extravagant package of Band-Aids
By Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.)
Look up the word "stimulus" in a dictionary, and you will find it defined as something that instigates activity. A simple look at the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus and recovery package being pushed by Democrat leadership reveals an astounding number of new spending programs that do everything but instigate economic activity.
The so-called stimulus plan is loaded with permanent program expansions, government program startups and unjustifiable spending schemes. Under the guise of stimulus, Washington Democrats are using our current crisis as an excuse to spend more than $122 billion on new-start programs that will have no immediate economic impact for struggling American families, workers or businesses.
For example, included in the proposal is $600 million to "prepare our country for universal health care." Then there is a provision to spend $1.1 billion for "comparative effectiveness research" at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Other examples of unjustifiable stimulus spending include $3 billion for a new "Prevention and Wellness" fund, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $200 million for National Mall repairs including grass planting, and $650 million to extend the digital converter box coupon program for analog television sets. The list goes on.
To make matters worse, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office scored the bill and determined that less than 10 percent of the spending is projected to be spent during the first year. Our country needs economic stimulation now, not in one or two years.
Despite the plan being decisively lacking in its ability to create long-lasting private-sector jobs, Democrats and the new administration are pushing for quick passage. The one thing it is sure to do is put American taxpayers further in debt for generations. Typical Washington spending is not what is needed during these extraordinary challenging times for our country. Americans expect and deserve more responsible government spending.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I offered an amendment last week during the full committee markup of the economic recovery bill that would strike 17 new spending programs. My amendment would have saved taxpayers $122.3 billion. However, in choosing to reject my proposal to hold the line on wasteful spending in what turned into a party-line vote, Democrats once again showed their contempt for fiscal constraint.
A more efficient way to jump-start the economy would have been to inject the $122.3 billion in savings directly into Americans' pockets in the form of tax relief. For example, if Congress halted taking out Social Security and FICA taxes, American workers would be able to take home 10 to 12 percent more of their paychecks. Studies have shown and history has proved that when consumers get extra money in their pockets, they do one of three things: They save it, spend it or invest it. All three options would help to quickly increase growth in our economy.
Congress cannot simply pretend that passing an extravagant package of Band-Aids, bailouts and giveaways disguised as tax relief will give our nation's economy the liberation it needs. The problems faced by American families and businesses are too monumental to pretend that solutions will be found in frantic spending, and I could not vote for such a careless proposal.
Todd Tiahrt is a Republican member of Congress from Goddard.
Look up the word "stimulus" in a dictionary, and you will find it defined as something that instigates activity. A simple look at the proposed $825 billion economic stimulus and recovery package being pushed by Democrat leadership reveals an astounding number of new spending programs that do everything but instigate economic activity.
The so-called stimulus plan is loaded with permanent program expansions, government program startups and unjustifiable spending schemes. Under the guise of stimulus, Washington Democrats are using our current crisis as an excuse to spend more than $122 billion on new-start programs that will have no immediate economic impact for struggling American families, workers or businesses.
For example, included in the proposal is $600 million to "prepare our country for universal health care." Then there is a provision to spend $1.1 billion for "comparative effectiveness research" at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Other examples of unjustifiable stimulus spending include $3 billion for a new "Prevention and Wellness" fund, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $200 million for National Mall repairs including grass planting, and $650 million to extend the digital converter box coupon program for analog television sets. The list goes on.
To make matters worse, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office scored the bill and determined that less than 10 percent of the spending is projected to be spent during the first year. Our country needs economic stimulation now, not in one or two years.
Despite the plan being decisively lacking in its ability to create long-lasting private-sector jobs, Democrats and the new administration are pushing for quick passage. The one thing it is sure to do is put American taxpayers further in debt for generations. Typical Washington spending is not what is needed during these extraordinary challenging times for our country. Americans expect and deserve more responsible government spending.
As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I offered an amendment last week during the full committee markup of the economic recovery bill that would strike 17 new spending programs. My amendment would have saved taxpayers $122.3 billion. However, in choosing to reject my proposal to hold the line on wasteful spending in what turned into a party-line vote, Democrats once again showed their contempt for fiscal constraint.
A more efficient way to jump-start the economy would have been to inject the $122.3 billion in savings directly into Americans' pockets in the form of tax relief. For example, if Congress halted taking out Social Security and FICA taxes, American workers would be able to take home 10 to 12 percent more of their paychecks. Studies have shown and history has proved that when consumers get extra money in their pockets, they do one of three things: They save it, spend it or invest it. All three options would help to quickly increase growth in our economy.
Congress cannot simply pretend that passing an extravagant package of Band-Aids, bailouts and giveaways disguised as tax relief will give our nation's economy the liberation it needs. The problems faced by American families and businesses are too monumental to pretend that solutions will be found in frantic spending, and I could not vote for such a careless proposal.
Todd Tiahrt is a Republican member of Congress from Goddard.
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