Press Conference With Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, and Steny Hoyer - Tax Rebate Checks

Statement

Press Conference With Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner, and Steny Hoyer - Tax Rebate Checks

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SPEAKER PELOSI: Good morning.

Because Congress has taken swift action and -- and bipartisan action on the economy, we were able to observe the fact that this week America's families will be receiving their recovery rebate checks.

In January, we passed we passed the -- well, more like February by the time we were finished -- the economic stimulus legislation with recovery rebates for America's families. In February, the president signed the legislation into law. Today, we announce the good news that next week 7.7 million Americans will receive their recovery rebates. This is just the beginning.

For a middle-class family of four, that is $1,800, including $300 each -- for each child. If they have more children, of course, their check would be more. By the end of the summer -- this -- this just begins this next week -- by the end of the summer, 130 million American families will receive their rebates to help them make ends meet and boost our economy.

American families need these rebates to cope with the rising cost of gas and groceries, and this will help get the economy moving. These checks will not come a moment too soon for families struggling with the economic downturn, but they are a good, strong step. The strain of the economic downturn on middle- and low-income families demands, in my view, a consideration of a second stimulus package, and we have begun some conversations with the administration and the Republicans on that.

Just as we did with the recovery rebates, Congress must work in a bipartisan way to find solutions for the immediate crisis and for a long-term economic recovery for America. Specifically, we are working on efforts to pass additional sweeping legislation to keep American families in their homes, to provide relief to out-of-work -- millions of out-of-work Americans, and to reduce the strain on families who are struggling, again, with rising gas and grocery prices.

These recovery rebates are an example of how Congress can work together and what can be accomplished when we work in a bipartisan way. In that regard, I am very honored to be standing here with the distinguished Republican leader of the House and my colleague, the Democratic leader, Mr. Hoyer. I'm pleased to yield the floor to Mr. Boehner and acknowledge his leadership as essential in getting this relief to American families.

Mr. Boehner.

REP. BOEHNER: Well, Madame Speaker, thank you. And it's a pleasure for me to be here with you and with the majority leader to really mark this occasion, which is a giant step in terms of helping to make Washington work.

You know, many Americans believe that Washington's broken. I believe that this is a small step in the right direction, to show the American people that Congress can work together with the administration on behalf of the needs of the American people.

And at a time when American small businesses and families are feeling the strain of rising gas prices, housing, the cost of health care, I think this announcement today comes as good news to them. These checks will help get our economy moving again in the best and fastest way possible just in time for summer. It will put money back in the pockets of middle-income Americans to deal with the issues they're dealing with. And also it will provide incentives for small businesses to create more jobs and to increase their purchasing power.

And as I said, this is an example of how Congress and the administration can work together when it's in the best interest of the American people, without regard to party affiliation. And I want to thank the speaker, I want to thank the majority leader. I want to thank the president of the United States.

And I want to thank the IRS. There's probably no elected official in anyone's memory that ever thanked the IRS. (Laughter.)

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Laughs.)

REP. BOEHNER: But when you consider how quickly they were able to retool their systems in order to put this together, they deserve a pat on the back.

And I think by empowering small businesses to create jobs and giving the American people this much-needed tax relief, this package and these checks will help get our economy moving again.

And I'm hopeful that the example that was set in putting this bill together can continue. We're going to have our differences on some bills, but there are issues that the American people are concerned about that we can work together in order to address their concerns in a timely basis.

REP. HOYER: Thank you very much, Madame Speaker and Mr. Boehner, the Republican leader.

I think all of us are very pleased, and the American public ought to be pleased as well. Confronted with what was an economic crisis and still remains for literally millions of Americans and our economy, the Congress and the president did come together in the early part of this year, shortly after convening, and came to consensus on an action plan.

I want to congratulate the speaker as well, and the president, for adding some 30 million people to those who will be the objects of this assistance. Frankly, those 30 million people are some of those who needed it the most. And we were able to agree on that compromise, which I think was a great step forward.

So I think this is a good day. And I want to thank Mr. Boehner for thanking the IRS. As some of you may know, I'm a local member of Congress, and a lot of my people work at the Internal Revenue Service. And it's another instance where the federal employees have done a good job at accelerating the distribution of these funds -- although, as the speaker indicated, it will be over time.

We believe and hope that this stimulus package will, in fact, if we're not in a recession, stop us from going into a recession; if we're in a recession, bring us out of a recession and resuscitate this economy. Plus, it will give needed assistance to people who are confronting rising food costs, as the speaker indicated, rising gasoline prices, trying to get to and from work and to and from schools and to and from their places of worship.

This was a positive step where we came together, saw a problem, and worked together to address it. Hopefully Mr. Boehner's correct. I know I look forward to working on other matters, including the possibility of an additional stimulus package to ensure that we address the continuing economic distress that confronts our country.

Q Madame Speaker, yesterday when you had the children you said that the economy, on a scale of one to 10, was a three. And I look at the check here and it says "recovery rebate." Is this an indication to try to say that we are, by doing this -- that we are on the road to recovery? Is this sort of --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, that is the hope. When we had our conversations, our discussions about the approach that we would take, we had three keys: that it would be timely, that it would be targeted, and that it would be temporary, so that it would be focused into a period of time to have an impact on the economy, to put money in the hands of people to help them make ends meet that they would spend, inject demand into the economy, create jobs. This is timely; I don't think Congress has every done anything this quickly. It is targeted to America's middle class. And because of the temporary nature of it, the checks will go out in a way that the impact will be felt within a period of -- a narrow period of time. And we believe that that approach will have an impact of turning the economy around.

When I said that, I was referencing others who have spoken on the condition of the economy. I have -- I'm hopeful that this will change and make the difference, and also the confidence that we can restore -- consumer confidence, confidence in the market, the confidence of the American people in the economy -- will help with an upturn.

Anyone else can chime in anytime you want.

REP. HOYER: No, I --

REP. BOEHNER: I'm fine.

STAFF: Last question.

Q But Madame Speaker, was this the best way to spend this money to stimulate the economy?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Mr. Boehner, do you want to take that one? (Laughs.)

REP. BOEHNER: Whatever the American people do with these checks will benefit the economy, whether they're buying products, whether they're helping to pay their gas bills, or whether they're paying off their credit cards, putting more liquidity back into the market.

The American people are bright. They'll figure out how to spend this money in the best way possible for themselves.

Thank you.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you all.

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