"I’m sick and tired of all the partisan bickering that goes on in our nation’s Capitol.  Rather than shout about what we’re not going to support, Congressman Marion Berry and I offered a solution.  H.R.2 will spend $550 billion to create only one million jobs, we’ve come up with a plan to spend $441 billion – that’s $109 billion less than the Republican bill – to create more than 18 million new jobs.

"The Ross-Berry amendment would strike the House-proposed so-called economic stimulus plan, and instead spend one billion dollars in every Congressional District solely on transportation and infrastructure.  For every billion dollars spent on roads, 42,000 new jobs are created.  Our amendment would create 42,000 new jobs in every Congressional District in America.

"Some of you heard President Bush speak in Little Rock this week about the need to cut taxes on dividends, well let me tell you how Arkansans would benefit from such cuts.  In the tax cut proposal under debate, 80 percent of Arkansans who work for a living and pay taxes would get back less than a dollar a day.  Under the Ross-Berry amendment, 100 percent of Arkansans would benefit from the immediate economic stimulus of improved transportation infrastructure.  Unfortunately, the House Republican Leadership refused to let our amendment be considered on the House floor, and insisted on pushing their more expensive and less effective bill forward. 

"I was one of 28 Democrats who supported President Bush’s tax cut in 2001, the largest tax cut in 20 years, totaling $1.3 trillion, because we had a surplus to pay for it.  That is not the case with this plan, and I refuse to support it.  By passing a second tax cut during a time when our country has returned to deficit spending, Congress will only increase our national debt and force our children and grandchildren to pay for it."

“When we invest in our roads and infrastructure, we pave the way to a solid economic future,” Ross said.  “For every billion dollars that is spent on highways, 42,000 new jobs are created.  Sending a billion dollars to improve roadways in every Congressional District translates to more than 18 million new jobs.  What’s more, regions that have been waiting year after year for their highway projects to get moving will have the funding they need.” 

"The Ross-Berry amendment actually does all of the things the President claims his so-called stimulus plan will do – only better.  Our plan is cheaper.  Our plan creates more jobs.  Our plan's impact will be more immediate and longer lasting.  And, most importantly, our plan will benefit every American, not just the extremely wealthy," Berry said.  "A substantial investment in our nation's transportation infrastructure is exactly what we need to jumpstart our economy and get us back on the road to economic stability and prosperity."

The amendment would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to provide funding in the form of grants directly to each state, with instructions to distribute equally among the state’s Congressional Districts, for transportation and infrastructure improvements. 

In the tax cut proposal under debate, 80 percent of Arkansans who work for a living and pay taxes would get back less than a dollar a day, and 55 percent would get less than a hundred dollars a year.  Under the Ross-Berry Amendment, 100 percent of Arkansans would benefit from the immediate economic stimulus of improved infrastructure. 

“We talk about needing an instant, shot-in-the-arm economic stimulus,” Ross continued, “well here it is.  Not only are we creating new jobs in every Congressional District of our country, we are permanently improving communities so they may attract new business, see increased travel and trade, and realize all of the economic improvements that come with new and improved roads.”

“I was one of 28 Democrats who supported President Bush’s tax cut in 2001, it was the largest tax cut in 20 years, worth $1.3 trillion.  Back then; I thought the tax cut was a good idea, because everybody got a piece of it.  But passing a second tax cut during a time when our country has returned to deficit spending will only increase the debt tax on our children and grandchildren. The first $2,559 every American pays in taxes each year goes to pay interest on the national debt and this new tax cut proposal only increases the national debt.

“Since 2001, we’ve seen the devastating economic impact of the September 11 attacks, emergency upgrades in homeland security for our states, and two wars.  The $5.6 trillion projected surplus for the next ten years has become a $2 trillion projected deficit for the same ten-year period.  Two million jobs have been lost, and our working families have lost as much as 40 percent of the value of their 401(k) retirement savings. 

“As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I have had the benefit of hearing from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on this issue, and I agree with him.  He says that while dividend tax reform is good for long-term stimulus, it will not produce a short-term stimulus.  We need an immediate stimulus to put people back to work now.  The President’s proposal fails to do that.

“President Bush’s tax cut plan is fiscally irresponsible.  The presidents budget, which includes his tax cuts, borrows the remaining $2 trillion from the Social Security Trust Fund over the next ten years, with no provisions on how to pay that money back.  This plan is particularly unhelpful in Arkansas, where 55 percent of those who work for a living and pay taxes would get less than a hundred dollars back, and 80 percent of working families would get less than a dollar a day. 

“I do support provisions that would benefit our district, such as increasing the child tax credit from $600 to $1,000, and accelerating the enactment of the 2001 income tax cuts for working families, the people who need the most relief right now.  But what I cannot support is this plan that will cut our state revenue by $40 million, increase our national debt by $1.9 trillion over the next ten years, yet does little to create jobs and strengthen our struggling economy.”
 

Photo:  Members of the Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce traveled to Washington, DC this week to visit with Mike Ross and other members of the Arkansas Delegation.  The group was among representatives from cities across the state who met for the annual Chamber of Commerce Executives Dinner on Monday.