Economic Rescue Plan

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, many of us originally supported the economic rescue plan because we recognized we needed to act immediately to prevent an economic disaster.

I heard from a lot of Kentuckians last fall who were hurting and wanted the Government to help, and I am still hearing from many small business owners and others across Kentucky who still need help. But those same Kentuckians are quick to call for assurances that whatever the Federal Government does should be undertaken with the assurance that taxpayer money will be spent wisely and will actually stimulate economic growth.

The American people have questions and so does Congress. We want assurances that if we decide to release additional funding, this money will not be wasted, that it will not be used for industry-specific bailouts that some House Democrats are already requesting.

We will be receiving briefings from the new President's team later today, and we look forward to hearing from them; that is, my Republican team. I know the new President was up here yesterday talking to the Democrats.

While I feel strongly we must continue to stabilize the economy, I would find it exceedingly difficult to support use of additional taxpayer funds without serious assurances from the incoming administration that the taxpayers will be protected.

I yield the floor.

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