A Year Later, Still Waiting For Jobs

Statement

A Year Later, Still Waiting For Jobs

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus bill, was signed into law exactly one year ago today. Since then, we've watched unemployment figures steadily rise, the White House has struggled to keep tabs on how and where the massive amounts of tax dollars have been spent, and the national debt has skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

The stimulus has had an entire year to deliver on the promises of its supporters, who claimed that its passage would keep unemployment below 8 percent. Today, the national unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent. If you add in those who are underemployed and those who have stopped seeking work, the unemployment rate approaches 16.5 percent. In addition, the stimulus package has cost much more than originally anticipated. The legislation was initially estimated to cost $787 billion, but more recent accounting suggests it could cost as much as an additional $75 billion.

The American taxpayers have not gotten their money's worth from the stimulus, and struggling Iowa families and small businesses are rightly asking those who wrote and supported the bill where the jobs are. I'm calling for the remaining unspent stimulus dollars to go toward paying down the national deficit, which has exploded to new heights. In the year since its enactment, the stimulus has failed to achieve its promised results. Let's put the taxpayers first, and use what's left to reduce the country's staggering debt.

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