Nebraska Congressmen Speak Out on Stimulus Bill

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NTV - Nebraska TV

Now that the stimulus bill is ready for action, what do our Nebraska leaders in Washington D.C. think will happen?

NTV News had a chance to get Senator Mike Johanns and Rep. Adrian Smith's thoughts on the stimulus package on Saturday. Both men voted against the bill earlier this week.

Rep. Smith (R) Nebraska stopped in Grand Island Saturday for a college savings session. He said if the stimulus package succeeds, interest rates and inflation will sky-rocket, and the value of the dollar will suffer.

"We need to make sure this money is spent wisely, and we need to be very careful about corruption...anytime a government throws money at us like that there's consequences. That certaintly makes me a bit uneasy."

Although Smith opposed the bill, he believes the most beneficial part will be more funding for K-12 education and community colleges.

Sen. Johanns stopped by the studio for the 6pm news. He agrees with Smith that K-12 and community colleges will get a boost, but he warned that funding will run out in two years. Smith said that's a concern for all the government spending projects; what will happen to the projects when the money runs out?

Johanns said there's far too many unnecessary parts to the bill, but one positive aspect he finds is extra funding for Nebraska roads.

"You'll see some uptick in terms of roadwork, no doubt about it. Road budgets were very, very tight and this is going to be an infusion of money if it's used appropriately. It could build some roads and do some resurfacing."

Johanns and Smith are now back on their way to Washington D.C. for President Barack Obama's address to a joint Congress on Tuesday.

Johanns said Obama will likely focus on the economy, but he wants to see him address another
area important to Nebraska.

"I'd love to see him talk about rural areas and agriculture. I think that's so important and it so often gets missed" at this annual speech.

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