OH-09: Iott on Latest bailout Bill to Pass in the House

Release:

Rich Iott, candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional District, issued the following statement following passage of HR 1586 - the Education, Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act:

"Today the House passed a second so-called stimulus, this time to bail out schools and states.

"What the career politicians in Washington fail to understand is that the over-spending has got to stop. There are good examples across the country, and right next door in our neighboring state of Indiana, where responsible governments have cut spending and encouraged job growth, resulting in budget surpluses of hundreds of millions of dollars.

"In May, Toledo voters rejected an income tax for their school system. Their message was clear - that with an 11.6% unemployment rate, they have no more money for failing schools. By Congress passing this bill in Washington today, the tone-deaf politicians have decided to spend tax dollars from all Americans to bail out the schools that local taxpayers refuse to give additional funds to. Even the liberal Washington Post criticized this measure as "more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an optimal use of public resources."

"Career politicians in Washington are again substituting their personal preferences for the will of the people they are supposed to represent. They are, again, ignoring what the voters are telling them.

"The first so-called stimulus failed to do what Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her supporters said it would. Unemployment rose - and so did the debt. You need to look no further than the fact that, 18 months after the first stimulus became law, they're still talking about the need to create jobs.

"And while that's bad enough, they're planning to pay for this current spending by cutting the Food Stamp program - but not until 2014. So where is the money going to come from to cover the $26.1 billion cost? It's going to come from increased taxation on businesses, 'future' savings in various programs and more borrowing against the future earnings of our children and our grandchildren.

"And when the time comes to cut the Food Stamp program in order to get the anticipated 'savings,' no one really believes that Congress will do so. In fact, most people will wonder how many times between now and then Congress will actually spend those same projected savings on favors for other special interests.

"Congress needs to take a serious look at its profligate spending and get its own fiscal house in order, which would serve as a good example to state and local governments to do the same."