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Fighting for Real Economic Stimulus

With new foreclosures and job layoffs hitting our communities every day, we are all feeling a lot of anxiety for what the future holds.  Our economy has stalled, and we just want to get it moving forward again, so workers can get back to work and families can pay their bills.  Americans have looked to Congress for quick and decisive action to make this happen. 

This is why I have been fighting so hard for true economic stimulus.  This means providing real relief for small businesses, the backbone of our economy.  It means reducing the tax burden for the middle class.  It means getting our housing industry going again and stopping the flood of foreclosures.  It means getting our financial systems working again, so that responsible home buyers, students and working families can get the loans they need.  It means implementing the reforms that will restore confidence in our markets, so that 401(k)s and pension plans can be built back up.  This is the kind of economic stimulus that we need.  Unfortunately, it’s not the stimulus bill that we got.

The bill that ultimately came before the House of Representatives was deeply disappointing.  The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the need for action couldn’t be greater, so I considered the merits of this bill very carefully.  I came to believe whole-heartedly that it failed on every key front.  It failed to deliver on the support for low-income and middle-class workers that was promised.  It failed to give a strong boost to small businesses.  It failed to deal with the problem of foreclosures or the root causes of the collapse of the housing market.  On a very basic level, it failed to provide the immediate stimulus that is so desperately needed.  And yet, the price tag soared to nearly $1 trillion.  I could not in good conscience support this.

There are some who argue that it would be better to pass a flawed bill than to reject it.  Given the severity of our economic situation, this argument is very understandable.  But ultimately, I disagree with it, for two reasons.  First and most important, our choice is not simply between this bill and nothing at all.  I supported an aggressive and robust alternative that relied on proven policies, and continue to fight for the principles it was focused on.  And there are many other good ideas out there.  If we had an opportunity to provide input and make improvements, we could transform this proposal into a true stimulus bill.  We should not limit ourselves to the false choice between a bad bill and doing nothing.  Second, our weakened economy simply cannot afford a nearly $1 trillion mistake.  Enacting a bill that not only fails to get our economy moving again, but bankrupts the treasury and dramatically increases the national debt will only prolong and deepen the recession.  That is something we just can’t afford.

Despite the failure to produce a true stimulus bill, there is still good reason to be hopeful.  President Obama has made a sincere call for bipartisanship, and I am eager to continue working with him to solve our economic crisis.  While some in the Democratic Leadership shunned the President’s call for collaboration, there is hope for the Obama vision of vigorous debate and practical ideas.  I will continue to engage with him and those of my colleagues who want to work together to find real solutions to the problems we are facing.

For more information on problems with this package, click here.

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