OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Recipe For Disaster

Floor Speech

By: Tom Cole
By: Tom Cole
Date: Feb. 12, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations Budget, Spending and Taxes Government Budget and Spending

Recipe For Disaster -- (House of Representatives - February 12, 2009)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about the proposed stimulus legislation. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never have so few spent so much so quickly to do so little. The stimulus bill, now totaling a staggering $789 billion, does little to aid our ailing economy. Let me put $789 billion in perspective. That is more money than we spent in 5 years of war in Iraq. That is more money than we spent in Afghanistan. Seven hundred eight-nine billion dollars is nearly as much as the total of all United States currency currently circulating worldwide.

This spending bill creates some 30 new Federal programs and agencies, growing government to the largest size ever. In fact, the spending in this bill is larger than the budgets of most governments and nearly twice the size of the oil-rich economy of Saudi Arabia. What we need is more money in the hands of those who pay taxes, create jobs and invest in our economy. Instead, we're giving billions to those who will grow government and raise taxes.

Madam Speaker, this is not a road to recovery. This is a recipe for disaster.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward