Congresswoman Sue Myrick:
“Why are we going to spend $825 billion on a plan that won’t achieve its goals?” said Rep. Myrick. “Instead, let’s get this money back to taxpayers and businesses who help grow the economy and create jobs.”
Myrick supports an alternative plan that will:
Cut income tax rates by 5% across the board
Increase the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $5,000
Make 15% tax rate on capital gains and dividends permanent
End capital gains tax on inflation
Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax
Make all IRS withdrawals tax and penalty free during 2009
Increase tax deduction for student loans and higher education expenses by 50%
Allow businesses to fully deduct the cost of business-related assets purchased in 2009
Cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%
Allow small-business owners a tax deduction equal to 20% of their overall income
Congressman Howard Coble:
“I oppose the bill because the most effective and efficient means of jumpstarting our economy, without wasteful spending, is providing tax incentives to working families and small businesses,” Rep. Coble stated. “There are more than 778,000 small businesses in North Carolina with 500 or fewer employees. These businesses represent more than 98% of all of the firms doing business in our state, and they create more than 54% of the new jobs in North Carolina. We know tax incentives are effective stimulants, and we also know they will generate revenues that will minimize the cost to taxpayers.”
Rep. Coble added that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 15 percent of the bill’s funding will be utilized this year. “Job cuts have been predicted to continue into the summer,” Coble noted, “and our working families cannot afford to wait for stimulus years from now, they need it immediately. Rep. Coble added that the Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 15 percent of the bill’s funding will be utilized this year. “Job cuts have been predicted to continue into the summer,” Coble noted, “and our working families cannot afford to wait for stimulus years from now, they need it immediately. I don’t see how spending $335 million to combat sexually-transmitted diseases or $600 million for new cars for government workers will create or protect North Carolina jobs.”
UPDATE: Congresswoman Virginia Foxx also put out a statement this afternoon.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx:
“The economic challenges facing our country today are great. Americans expect Congress to take seriously the need to get the unemployed back to work and to help small businesses, the engine of our economy, create most of those jobs. Doing the right thing means we must cut taxes for small businesses and all American families rather than spending billions on pet projects that do nothing to stimulate the economy.
“This $825 billion borrow and spend plan that shells out $7.7 billion for programs that already have a budget surplus, that spends more than $330 million for sexually transmitted disease programs and that fritters away another $400 million for NASA global warming research does not measure up.
“We are being told that action is urgent but only 15 percent of the spending in this bill will get into the economy in 2009 and only 35 percent in 2010. That’s why today I will vote for an alternative plan that focuses on tax relief which leaves more money in the hands of working families instead of giving more money to government which is little more than pork barrel spending.
“Borrowing and spending the equivalent of $10,500 for every household in America will do little to nothing to create new jobs and will put us further down the road to a national debt catastrophe. I urge my Democrat colleagues to consider the proposals put forth by Republicans to bring fast, efficient economic relief through targeted tax cuts for families and employers.”
UPDATE: Congressman Walter Jones put out a statement.
Congressman Walter Jones:
“Problems that have been caused by too much spending and too much debt simply can’t be solved by more government spending and more federal debt. While there is no doubt that our nation’s economy is suffering a severe downturn, this so-called economic ‘stimulus’ bill is a borrow-and-spend plan with no guaranteed benefits for our economy. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this legislation will increase the federal budget deficit by more than $800 billion, with additional interest costs of $347 billion. This brings the total cost of the package to an astounding $1.2 trillion.”
“Economists agree that real fiscal stimulus must be ‘targeted, timely, and temporary,’ yet that is not the kind of remedy this bill provides. Our economy is said to need immediate help, yet the CBO estimates that less than 21 percent of the funds in this bill would be spent in 2009. This legislation also outlines new government spending in at least 150 different federal programs – including $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, $600 million for federal cars and $7.7 billion for federal buildings. The package even calls for spending $54 billion on 19 programs that the Office of Management and Budget has already deemed ‘ineffective.’”
UPDATE: Congressman Patrick McHenry also opposed the legislation as all House Republican voted no to the bill. It passed the House by a vote of 222-188 and moves onto the Senate.
