Georgia's Republican Delegation Calls for Long-Term Economic Stiulus Plan

Press Release

GEORGIA'S REPUBLICAN DELEGATION CALLS FOR LONG-TERM ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN

Georgia's House Republicans today joined together to oppose spending $150 billion of borrowed money, preferring Congress to instead focus on long term economic growth measures. The measure passed 385-35, with one "present," and now goes to the Senate, where senators have vowed to tack on even more spending.

Georgia's Republican House members, known as the G7, said the following:

Rep. Paul Broun (10th District):
"Frankly, I don't think that sending out a rebate check is going to do enough to stimulate the economy," said Broun. "We've got to shift our focus towards creating jobs. A real stimulus plan has to be geared towards small businesses as they serve as the economic engine of our country. The ‘Economic Growth Act of 2008,' which I am a cosponsor of, incorporates principles that have historically proven to stimulate the economy and it is a better legislative solution to address the threat of a slowing economy than the proposal that passed the House today."

Rep. Nathan Deal: (9th District)
"I was disappointed in the lack of legislative process this bill took to reach the floor. I felt this legislative package cherry picked which tax payers deserved a tax rebate and which tax payers do not receive a rebate. I support tax relief for all Americans who pay taxes in the form of a tax cut. In addition, the ninth district has more than 100,000 seniors who are on a fixed income and under this bill were not eligible for a tax rebate."

Rep. Phil Gingrey (11th District):
"Stimulating the economy requires more than just tax rebates, over $30 billion of which in this case would go to people who did not even pay taxes last year. We need to encourage business investment and job creation if we're serious about staving off a recession. If there's one thing we should have learned in Congress, it's that ramming through legislation without debate, hearings, or public input creates nothing but bad policy."

Rep. Jack Kingston (1st District):
"How many times have you heard a politician say, 'If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for a lifetime.' This 'stimulus' does nothing but give fish. If we want to create jobs, we need investment tax credits. This package gets an 'A+' for politics and an 'F' for economics and jobs."

Rep. John Linder ( 7th District):
"The solution to this problem will not be realized by throwing money into an economy that is insecure. It is our responsibility to provide consumers with economic policies that are permanent. To truly achieve the goal of stabilizing our economy, the House could have adopted a bill that makes the Bush tax cuts and the business depreciation schedule permanent. Instead, they give Americans a temporary fix to a critical problem."

Rep. Tom Price (6th District):
"One-time rebates and short-term business subsidies are not an adequate and significant stimulus. Economic uncertainty for American families will persist unless we address long-term economic growth. A meaningful stimulus will encourage lasting investment and job creation by permanently decreasing taxes and ending foolish regulations that burden our economy."

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (3rd District):
"This legislation promises tax rebates, but it's not a tax rebate when we're borrowing money from China to write checks to ourselves. Sending out checks in a couple of months isn't going to expand the economy, it's just going to expand the deficit. This is simply a national credit card binge, and as many Americans are discovering these days, the bill eventually comes due and the results aren't pretty. We are putting the future of our country in the hands of foreigners who buy our debt. It's scary, it's reckless and it's got to stop."