Press Conference with Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)

Interview

PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SENATOR CHARLES SCHUMER (D-NY)

SUBJECT: PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA'S ECONOMIC TEAM AND THE ECONOMY

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(Note: This event was fed in progress.)

SEN. SCHUMER: (In progress) -- money, not too much, because you want to save every dollar you can, but not too little, that it'll have no effect. The last stimulus, when the economy was in better shape, of about $150 billion, didn't really do the job.

Q Can I just ask one question, sir?

SEN. SCHUMER: Yeah, Tim.

Q There's been a lot of talk about -- people got the checks and didn't spend them. Why wouldn't Congress authorize debit cards instead that have to be spent within a certain period of time, rather than just giving people money they can put in savings --

SEN. SCHUMER: Well, it's an interesting idea, but I think that Congress is reluctant to require people to, when you get -- you know, even when people save, they help the situation, because the banks and the financial services are in such a tough position. And I think there's some reluctance to tell people what they ought to do with the money.

Okay? Thanks.

STAFF: Thanks, everybody.

SEN. SCHUMER: Okay. I'm going to get out of here.

END.

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