Providing For Further Consideration Of Conference Report On H.R. 1, American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, bipartisanship is important, and we are reaching out for it. There is no President in history that has reached out and has done more to reach out and to show them than President Barack Obama. He has done so.

On our side, the amendments that you wanted, many of those were included by Chairman Obey, Chairman Rangel and the other chairmen in this. There were some objectionable items.

Mr. DREIER. Will the gentleman yield?

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield my friend an additional minute.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Well, thank you very much, I can certainly use it.
Because of this, this country is looking for us to provide the kind of leadership that is needed. They don't want us to hang around the docks like little boats. They are looking for us to go way out where the big ships go. We must think big and bold. Our economy is crumbling around us.

Let me speak for a moment about what we need in Georgia. I don't know about your States, but Georgia's economy is crumbling and is in need. We will get just more than $6 billion in construction, and these are ready-made construction projects. Let me read what we have in the law.

It says these new starts and priority projects would be under construction, and, we would be able to award contracts at least within 120 days so that we are moving forward and making sure that these jobs are created in the areas that are needed most.

Now, we don't have a choice in this. The wrong thing for us to do is to do nothing. We have got to act big, we have got to act bold, and the American people are looking to us. We have got to move with confidence.

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Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Well, tax cuts are good, but they are not the only thing. Every economist that we have talked with has said it is spending, because when you spend, you are putting money directly into the economy, creating jobs, and those jobs will yield back tax receipts as well.

When you have tax cuts, it's discretionary. A person can use it to save, they can use it to do whatever. But when you inject money directly into the economy, you are, in fact, stimulating that economy.

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield myself an additional 30 seconds and engage in a discussion with my colleague on this.

Madam Speaker, let me just say that economist after economist has pointed to the fact that if we focus on spending, which the gentleman has talked about, there is a lag time. In fact, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office analysis has indicated that spending will go as far as beyond the 10 years from now.

So the gentleman is absolutely right, Madam Speaker, we need to immediately stimulate the economy. And more than a few of these economists, including the President's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, pointed to the fact that tax cuts are, in fact, the way to provide that immediate stimulus.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Does the gentleman have more time to yield?

Mr. DREIER. We have got a limited time. I have already yielded my friend an additional minute. Maybe Ms. Slaughter might yield the gentleman a minute so that he could respond.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I can yield the gentleman 30 additional seconds but no more.

Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. I am so glad you pointed that out, because let me show you, let me just illustrate to you, everything is different, every State is different.

My State has over 6 billion shovel-ready projects ready to go. In one county alone, in Clayton County, we have got $43 million ready to go; in Cobb County, $50 million; Henry County, $12 billion; in Douglas County, $11 million and in Fulton County, $62 million. These are shovel-ready projects ready to go that will create jobs.

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