Posted by Sabrina Eaton/Plain Dealer Washington Bureau February 13, 2009 19:36PM
Categories: Congress
Ohio members of the U.S. House of Representatives didn't deliver any suprise votes on the $789 billion stimulus package. Democrats liked it. Republicans didn't. Here's a sampling of what they had to say about the bill:
Dennis Kucinich, D-Cleveland:
"This bill is an important down payment to get us out of this recession. The bill is not perfect: it is not large enough to replace lost gross domestic product. But it lays a foundation of targeted government spending that will create millions of jobs and protect the families who have suffered most by this economic crisis."
John Boccieri, D-Alliance:
"I believe history will judge the U.S. government in two ways: action or inaction. Today we chose to act and we voted for historic cuts for working families. This bill is about creating jobs. It's about investing in our people, our country, and our future."
Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township:
"The American people are waiting for a recovery package that will help get our economy back on track. They are asking for our help and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a response to that call. We will stimulate our economy as we put Americans back to work doing work that America needs to have done."
Marcia Fudge, D-Warrensville Heights:
"House leadership saved as much funding as possible for direct allocation to our local municipalities. Ohio has a good first step towards economic stability and job creation. This is not a perfect plan, but a reassuringly solid beginning. The 111th Congress will monitor the package's real world effect and if it needs modification, I will be the first member at the table."
Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo:
"Our nation is facing a severe economic crisis. We face the highest unemployment rates in a generation and an uncertain road forward. This legislation strengthens the safety net for millions of seniors and unemployed Americans. It also makes important investments in our future. Although I wish it would have focused more on job creation in the short term, I am also encouraged by the commitment to green energy, infrastructure projects, and high-speed
rail."
Steve LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township:
"The biggest failing of this bill - besides the obscene pricetag - is that it will not help you get a job, keep you in your home, replenish your 401k or help you get a loan - the most pressing needs of my constituents. Let us end the pretense that this is a stimulus bill when it contains a staggering $70 billion to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax. As a Congress, we should fix this so Middle Income families don't get hammered on taxes. As a Congress, we do fix this, and have done so every year for many years running. The difference is, we generally find a way to pay for it. With this bill, we slap this and more than $800 billion of other goodies on a credit card."
John Boehner, R- West Chester:
"The American people expect more of us. They expect to have something that's going to work for them - and my opposition to this bill isn't the fact that we're doing a bill, we need to act. But how? When you look at some of the spending in this bill, it will do nothing about creating jobs in America. Tell me spending $50 million for some salt marsh mouse in San Francisco is going to help a struggling auto worker in Ohio? Tell me how spending $8 billion in this bill to have a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas is going to help the construction worker in my district."
Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green:
"As our nation shoulders the burden of a recession and Americans continue to feel the effects of rising unemployment rates, the Democrat majority has decided to send our nation further into debt, passing the buck to our next generation with wasteful spending that does nothing to create jobs tomorrow, next month, or even next year."
Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa:
"Today's vote represents a missed opportunity for those of us in Washington who wanted to prove to the American people we understood their call for change. This bill is not stimulative; it's loaded with Nancy Pelosi's grab bag of big spending wishes. It does very little to ease our housing crisis, the driving force of the economic downturn."
http://blog.cleveland.com/openers/2009/02/ohio_congressmen_react_to_stim.html
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