FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                 CONTACT:  JOHN DONNELLY
February 13, 2009                                                                           (202) 225-2276

                     
BURTON STATEMENT ON THE “STIMULUS”

Bill Fails to Deliver Real Stimulus, is a Trojan Horse of Democrat Policies

(Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) issued the following statement after the Democrats passed their “stimulus” bill [H.R. 1] through the House:

“I know full well that we are in a serious recession; I know that Hoosiers are hurting, and that we must act now.  And I sincerely wish I could have voted for a stimulus package that would actually create sustainable jobs and promote long term economic growth.  Unfortunately, the Democrat Leadership’s so-called stimulus bill – negotiated in secret in the dead of night - is nothing but a long wish list of big government spending that won’t work.  It won’t create jobs; won’t stimulate the economy and, over the long-term, it will do more harm than good.

“This is not just my opinion.  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that 53% of this so-called stimulus won’t be spent until after 2011 – far too late to stimulate our fragile economy – and between 2011 and 2019, the enormous government debt created by H.R. 1 will crowd out private investment, causing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to decrease by at least 0.3%.  In short, the experts have told us that the Democrat plan will backfire, and our economy will shrink, not grow, as a result of this bill.

Republicans offered a better solution: fast-acting tax relief for working families and small businesses that will create twice the jobs at half the cost.  Again, this is not just my opinion. According to the economic formula put together by the Chair of President Obama’s own Economic Advisory Council, the Republican alternative would have created twice as many jobs for less than half the cost of the Democrat bill.

“Equally disappointing is the way the Democrats in Congress have defied President Obama’s calls for bipartisanship, and have crafted the final version of the bill largely in secret, and inserted a ‘Trojan Horse’ filled with health care provisions that give the Federal government a new and frightening way to intrude into our personal lives.  And, of course, there’s the frivolous spending that has absolutely no relevance to stimulating the economy in the short term, or to creating sustainable economic growth.  To make room for this spending, the various tax cut provisions—the real medicine for a stimulus—have been scaled down from a meager 35 percent of the bill, to 26 percent.

“Finally, the Democrat leaders in Congress have broken their promise to allow a full 48 hours to review the bill before the final vote.  We were given about 1,000 pages last night at 11:00pm, and the vote was this afternoon.  The process by which the Democrats have passed this bill, without bipartisanship or transparency, is truly regrettable.

“I want to let my fellow Hoosiers know that I do want to work with President Obama to overcome this economic crisis, but I will never go along just to get along.  I cast my votes based on what I believe is the very best decision for our country.  This is an extraordinarily difficult time, and the leading analysis is that things will get worse.  With that understanding, of course I think our nation needs to take drastic measures to bring about economic recovery, but I believe with all my heart that the Democrats’ approach is completely wrong.

“There are better solutions for America, and for the Hoosiers I represent.  Judging by the calls coming into the 5th District offices, my constituents strongly agree with me on this issue.  Even though the stimulus battle is now over, I will continue to do all that I can to represent real economic solutions for our country.”

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