Stimulus Package

Floor Speech

STIMULUS PACKAGE -- (Senate - February 12, 2009)

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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, first, let me say to my distinguished colleague from New Jersey, I sincerely appreciate his passion about this problem. I think everyone on this side of the aisle likewise feels as passionately about the difficulties facing the American people today. There is no one who believes this is not a problem. There is no one here who does not feel the empathy every one of us should feel about Americans who are losing their jobs and about Americans who are underemployed.

There are over 92 percent of Americans employed, but there are over 7 percent who are not. The fact that 92 percent are employed in no way denigrates the fact that we have a substantial and a high rate of unemployment.

With all due respect to my colleague from New Jersey, he made reference to the fact that there are people encouraging that we do nothing. I don't know who that person is. I have not run into them yet. It is not anyone on this floor that I know of.

I think this problem is so serious and I believe my Republican colleagues believe this problem is so serious that it does not only deserve something be done but that something major be done, something aggressive be done, and something quickly be done.

With all due respect, I strongly disagree with his characterization that there is anyone on this side of the aisle who hopes this plan does not succeed. We pray every day that this package does succeed. It has to succeed. If it does not, this country is going to be in very serious trouble.

Let there be no mistake about it, this is clearly a Democratic plan. The people who are saying this is a bipartisan plan are flat wrong. This is a Democratic plan. I hope it works. I pray that it works. I pray that we will be able to come out here one day in the very near future and say congratulations to the Democrats for putting together this package and putting it to work so that we turn this economy around. The Democrats own this plan.

Having said that, I urge, and my colleagues on this side of the aisle urge, that this is not just a single path that is going to take us out of the problem we have. Indeed, it is going to take more than just spending. Just spending has not worked in the past. It did not work at the time of the Great Depression. It did not work for Japan in the nineties. It did not even work for us last year when this Congress gave $600 to every individual to go out and spend. It did not even put a blip on the screen as far as helping the downturn in the economy.

The real problem, the systemic problem is the frozen credit markets. It is not Government spending that is going to get us out of this situation; it is the spending by the great American people, by the great American consumer, by businesses large and businesses small. It is their spending that will get us out of the deep hole we are in.

With all due respect to my good friend from New Jersey, I would like to see as much passion about attacking the problem with the banking sector and the frozen credit markets that we are seeing for this spending of $800 billion which, when all is said and done, will turn out to be $1.2 trillion when we include the interest that is going to have to be paid.

I congratulate the good Senator for referring to the work done in the housing sector. With all due respect, I urge it is not enough. This Senate added an excellent provision to this particular package. It was taken out when the conference committee met, and that portion that was taken out reduced in half what needed to be done to help stimulate the housing sector.

Mr. President, you heard my distinguished colleague from New Jersey talk about the amount people will be able to use to go out and get a home. It was reduced in the conference committee. It was cut virtually in half. On top of that, it only allows for first-time buyers, which just does not make sense. If we are trying to stimulate the housing sector, why just first-time house buyers? Everyone should be given this opportunity to go out and to purchase a new home or a previously occupied home and should get the credit.

With all due respect, what this Senate did was taken out in the conference committee. I would like to see the same passion as the other two paths--that is, attacking the frozen credit market and the housing sector--that we keep seeing from the other side as far as the spending of this $800 billion.

I close with this. I asked this on the floor the other day: Why $800 billion? It is really important that history knows why America settled on $800 billion. There is no doubt this is going to pass. The Democrats will vote together on this. Three Republicans have shown they are going to vote with them. And there is no doubt this is going to pass. But we need, America needs, America requires an explanation of why $800 billion.

I heard the President of the United States say earlier this week: That is not just a number I pulled out of the air. I take him at his word. If it was not just pulled out of the air, it was carefully constructed with a formula. I want to see that formula. America wants to see that formula. Historians are going to need to see that formula because if it works, we are going to need that formula in the future again someday. If it does not work, we need to look at that formula and see if we can figure out why it did not work.

Somebody, please, deliver us that formula so we know how the number of $800 billion was reached. It could be $50 billion. It could be $200 billion. It could be $600 billion. It could be $1.5 trillion. We don't know. But if we have that formula, we Republicans can help fine-tune that formula to either spend more if more needs to be spent based on the formula or to spend less if less can be spent and if we can save this money. We are strapping our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with a horrendous debt. They are going to be paying this back. The money will have to be borrowed probably from China. They are the ones who usually put up the money for this. Future generations are going to be working to pay back the Chinese Government $800 billion. Future generations have the absolute right to know how this administration and how the Democratic Party constructed a formula that spent $800 billion. It is only fair.

Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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