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Tiberi: Redirect Or Recall Remaining Stimulus Dollars Now

Statement

Date: Oct. 23, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Budget, Spending and Taxes Government Budget and Spending

U.S. Congressman Pat Tiberi today issued the followingstatement after reading reports of Christina Romer's (Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors) prepared testimony before the Joint Economic Committee, reporting "Most analysts predict that the fiscal stimulus will have its greatest impact on growth in the second and third quarters of 2009 ... By mid-2010, fiscal stimulus will likely be contributing little to growth."

U.S. Congressman Pat Tiberi:

"This is unbelievable! Democrats in Congress forced through a spending spree that will cost nearly a trillion dollars by the time it's all said and done, and now the President's own advisor has said the Stimulus has already had it's greatest impact on the economy. Unemployment has risen since this bill became law and is expected to get worse, and the economy has not seen vast improvement. It's almost the end of 2009 and the state has shed 97,500 jobs since passage of the Stimulus.

"My Republican colleagues and I said during debate about this bill that it wasn't targeted, and did little to address the root causes of the downturn. About 80 percent of the Stimulus money hasn't been spent. Since the Stimulus bill is obviously not working, I'm calling for the remaining unspent Stimulus funds to be recalled or redirected to actually create jobs and help Americans during this difficult time.We're continuing to struggle; the Stimulus hasn't had the impact President Obama and Speaker Pelosi claimed it would. Now that the President's own chief economic advisor is saying what Republicans have been saying for months, it is the time to correct this mistake and finally give Americans and the economy the boost it needs."

Note: As Congressman Tiberi has noted the Stimulus bill was a missed opportunity to truly make a difference. The bill was not targeted to address the initial causes of the economic downturn. Republican leaders on behalf of House Republicans offered better solutions that would truly impact our economy.


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