Congressman Franks Statement on House Stimulus Package

Statement

Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), gave the following statement regarding the economic stimulus package reached this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader John Boehner, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

"Given the environment that our negotiators had to work with, I believe the swift House agreement reached on the stimulus package to be a positive one. The primary component of the plan which I take issue with is the idea of giving ‘tax relief' to those who do not pay taxes. Overall, however, I am pleased that not only will this package provide a direct, quick infusion into taxpayers' pockets and an immediate boost to the economy, but that no unrelated spending or tax increases were included in the plan. It is our hope that the Senate will refrain from adding wasteful and unrelated spending to the bill.

"I also believe that this is only a temporary response to address a precipitous economic situation; not a long-term solution to truly stabilize, reinvigorate, and continue a long trend of economic growth. To that end, I am a cosponsor of the Republican Study Committee's Economic Growth Act, which would lower the tax and regulatory burdens on businesses in order to encourage entrepreneurship and create jobs for the middle class— things that are vitally important to providing a stable and viable economic future to our children."

The Republican Study Committee (RSC) this week introduced the Economic Growth Act of 2008 (H.R. 5109). The legislation, aiming to stimulate the economy by lowering the tax and regulatory burden on businesses, offers a solid alternative to proposals— such as tax rebates and federalizing mortgage contracts— that would fail to stimulate or do serious harm to the economy.

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