Boehner: Dems' $150 Billion "Stimulus" Scheme "Irresponsible," Outlines Alternative

Release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today dismissed a plan by Democratic leaders that would spend $150 billion in taxpayers’ money in the name of economic “stimulus,” and instead proposed an alternative approach that would encourage economic growth and job creation through tax relief, increased energy production, and other reforms.

Boehner called the Democrats’ spending plans “more of the same: an irresponsible, business-as-usual approach that has earned this Congress the lowest approval ratings ever recorded in the history of modern polling.”

“Our constituents are not looking at the mess in Washington or Wall Street and asking the federal government to take care of other governments. They are not asking for a one-term accounting fix to Medicaid, or pork-barrel spending masquerading as ‘stimulus,’” Boehner said. “They’re asking for reforms that create good jobs, lower energy costs, and allow our employers to compete. They are asking for a real economic growth package that lets them keep more of their own paychecks – and creates new American jobs at the same time.”

Instead of passing the Democrats’ $150 billion spending scheme, Boehner said, Congress should take immediate steps to help America “turn the corner toward real economic growth” through action on a series of GOP-backed reforms, including enactment of a comprehensive, job-creating “all of the above” energy plan; tax relief and reforms to bring American jobs back home and encourage home purchases; suspension of the capital gains tax to encourage investment; lift the current $250,000 cap on FDIC insurance and insure 100 percent of checking and savings deposits (all transaction accounts); suspending minimum withdrawal rules to spare investors from being forced to sell their stocks at just the time when the market is hurting the most; and other reforms.

Here is the letter:

10-13-08 Boehner Letter to Pelosi - Upload a Document to Scribd