Rubberstamp At The Ready: House Democrats To Stand With Obama On Stimulus

February 21, 2013

FYI, a similar version of this release below went out to the following districts: Ron Barber (AZ-02), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), John Garamendi (CA-03), Ami Bera (CA-07), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), Scott Peters (CA-52), Elizabeth Esty (CT-05), Patrick Murphy (FL-18), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Joe Garcia (FL-26), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Bill Enyart (IL-12), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), John Tierney (MA-06), Bill Keating (MA-09), Tim Walz (MN-01), Rick Nolan (MN-08), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Bill Owens (NY-21), Pete Gallego (TX-23), and Suzan DelBene (WA-01).

WASHINGTON – At a time when our nation’s debt is spiraling out of control and President Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s first failed stimulus just celebrated its 4^th birthday, the president is proposing another $50 billion stimulus for “infrastructure projects.” However, House Democrats are ready to rubberstamp Obama and Pelosi’s liberal agenda once again.

Their first stimulus was an abject failure. The national debt skyrocketed and the unemployment rate is still far above where the White House said it would be if we passed the $800 billion law. But sadly, House Democrats stand ready to create another billion-dollar calamity.

“Washington Democrats have been a reliable rubberstamp for President Obama and Nancy Pelosi,” said NRCC Communications Director Andrea Bozek. “That’s why it is no surprise that they’ll support their next billion-dollar stimulus—even after the first one was such a massive failure.”

President Obama Is Proposing $50 Billion Stimulus Package Consisting Of “Infrastructure Projects.” “The first element of the plan is a ‘fix it first’ policy that calls for investing $50 billion in transportation infrastructure, subject to Congressional approval. Fully $40 billion of that amount would be directed to work on the highways, bridges, transit systems and airports ‘most in need of repair,’ according to the document.”

(John Schwartz, “Obama To Flesh Out Plans For Infrastructure Projects,” The New York Times, 2/20/13)

The First Stimulus Package Costs $831 Billion. (“Estimated Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on Employment and Economic Output from January 2012 Through March 2012,” Congressional Budget Office, 5/25/12)

The White House Predicted, With The Stimulus, The Current Unemployment Rate Would Be 5.2 Percent. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,” 1/9/09)

The Current Unemployment Rate Is 7.9 Percent. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2/15/13)

Approximately $5.7 Trillion Has Been Added To The National Debt Since The Stimulus Was Passed. (U.S. Department Of Treasury, Accessed 2/16/13)