Cassidy: Administration's Stimulus Claims Consistently Called Into Question By Facts

Statement

Today, Congressman Bill Cassidy (R-Baton Rouge) issued the following statement in response to Vice-President Joe Biden's curious progress report on the ‘stimulus' and several recent news accounts calling into question whether the stimulus has created any progress at all:

"The Administration's claims about the ‘stimulus' are consistently called into question by the facts."

"Early on, the Administration said it would pass a "timely, targeted, and temporary" stimulus package. Unfortunately, it did not. We were told massive government spending would quickly jumpstart the economy. The facts demonstrate that it hasn't."

WHERE RHETORIC MEETS REALITY

At the outset of the stimulus debate, the Chairman of the White House's National Economic Council, Larry Summers, articulated the essentials for an effective economic stimulus, saying that it should be timely, targeted, and temporary.

Timely?

"Nearly three months after President Obama approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, intended to create or save jobs, the federal government has paid out less than 6 percent of the money, largely in the form of social service payments to states." - New York Times

"Nearly four months into his presidency, Mr. Obama has begun to describe a pivot from economic crisis to economic recovery. From stabilized consumer spending to higher construction spending, he said last week, "the gears of our economic engine" are "slowly turning once again." The problem is that those gears are unlikely to churn out many new jobs anytime soon. - New York Times

Targeted?

The stimulus creates or expands 106 programs, including funding programs that have nothing to do with helping the economy. - Statement of Republican Policy

Temporary?

Only 11 percent of the discretionary funding will be spent in the first year, and less than half (47 percent) gets out the door in the first two years. -
House Budget Committee Minority Staff, The ‘Stimulus' Conference Report

What about "jobs saved or created?"

The administration's practice of discussing jobs saved as well as created is "a very clever device for providing future political cover," said University of Chicago economics professor Steven Davis. - USA Today

"There has been skepticism of the administration's claim of creating or saving 150,000 jobs. While it can be difficult to count jobs that were saved, as opposed to those that were created, Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, said that trends in state and local government employment "just do not support that claim." - New York Times

"President Obama's chief economics forecaster said on Sunday that the nation's unemployment rate was likely to keep rising until 2010." - New York Times

MEANWHILE, THE PRESIDENT HAS SAID "NO" TO NUMEROUS COMMON SENSE ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS PROPOSED BY CASSIDY AND HOUSE REPUBLICANS, INCLUDING:

The No-Cost Stimulus Act (H.R. 1431), a plan to strengthen America's energy security, grow GDP by $10 trillion, and create an estimated 2 million jobs by repealing certain restrictions on the utilization of American energy resources.

The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2009 (H.R. 470), an alternative stimulus package featuring broad and targeted tax relief designed to jumpstart consumer spending;

The House Republican Economic Recovery Plan, an alternative economic stimulus proposal providing tax relief for working families, assistance to small businesses, aid for the uninsured, and measures to stabilize the housing market;

The Savings Recovery Act (H.R. 2021), legislation to help restore and build savings through assistance for students, seniors, and families; and

The Responsible Homeowner Act (H.R. 1903), legislation aimed at rejuvenating the housing market through targeted incentives and homeowner assistance.

Source