HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Giving a Voice to the “Stimulus Spending” Skeptics

In response to President-elect Obama’s request for Republican input, House Republicans formed a working group (led by Republican Whip Eric Cantor) aimed at developing constructive ideas that can be included in legislation to help put the nation’s economy on the path to recovery.

Yesterday, the working group held a hearing to discuss America’s economic recovery.  Joining the discussion were Governor Mitt Romney, Meg Whitman, Grover Norquist, Alex Brill, and Bill Beach.  In addition, the panel answered questions that were submitted for the panel by the American people via YouTube.  A video of the working group hearing is below.

In addition, Leader Boehner has solicited, and received, comments from prominent economists who are skeptical of Congressional Democrats’ trillion dollar spending plan.  Scholars’ opinions have continued to pour in, and they have been universally critical of the tax, spend, and borrow precepts of the Democratic proposal.  On January 7, Boehner released comments from dozens of skeptical economists, and since then, opinions have continued to stream in.

Following is some of the latest commentary made by economists about the impact of a massive government “stimulus spending” bill.   For a more detailed list, click here.

“I have a number of reservations about a major stimulus package. One is that it is not in any sense clear that the benefits justify the significant price tag of the package. Another concern is that the historical record of government stimulus programs is poor - I can’t think of a single fiscal stimulus program that demonstrably moderated a recession. But there is ample evidence based on peer-reviewed research that these programs have substantially damaged the U.S. economy, such as the New Deal programs in the 1930s. More recent stimulus attempts, such as the tax rebate in early 2008, did nothing but increase the deficit. The best policies are those that are evaluated carefully and not rushed out, and that are consistent with the key goals of long-run economic prosperity - broad-based tax reform that raises the incentives to work, save, and invest, promoting competition, and fostering economically open ties with other countries. Any fiscal policy should pass this test, and this one doesn’t seem to.”
-Lee Ohanian
Professor of Economics, University of California, Los Angeles
Director, Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research

“The stimulus plan is little more than a grossly-inefficient special-interest grab bag that will leave a massive burden for our grandchildren to pay and, in the meantime, deter development of more productive sectors of the economy in favor of those politically favored.”
-Roger Meiners
Professor of Economics, University of Texas at Arlington

Leader Boehner has repeatedly stated that “We can’t simply borrow and spend our way back to prosperity.”  Clearly many American economists tend to agree.

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If At First It Fails, Try, Try Again?

The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), has sponsored new legislation that would allegedly make the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) more accountable to the American people.  Despite the title of his bill, Rep. Frank’s “TARP Reform and Accountability Act of 2009″ (H.R. 384) provides neither reform nor accountability to the TARP.  That’s unfortunate, because both are desperately needed.

Though Rep. Frank’s bill does not authorize the release of the remaining $350 billion of TARP funds, the purpose of the bill is to help ensure that congressional efforts to stop the release of the remaining funds fail.  House Republican leaders today issued an analysis warning that “passage of H.R. 384 may facilitate the discharge of the final tranche by establishing guidelines for spending the next $350 billion for those Members concerned with how the first tranche was spent.”

There are several concerning elements of Rep. Frank’s Bill, most notably among them (From the “Statement of Republican Policy” issued Jan. 15, 2009):

1. There is a danger that the provisions in H.R. 384 place the TARP on a slippery slope to a “command-and-control” economic model.  For example, the bill provides for government observers to attend the meetings of the boards of directors of assisted institutions and at the committees of such boards while any funds from TARP remain outstanding.

2. The bill provides for the expenditure of up to $100 billion (and no less than $40 billion) to implement foreclosure mitigation programs that require taxpayers to subsidize the bad decisions of irresponsible lenders, investors, and borrowers, and have not been demonstrated to be effective in keeping borrowers in their homes or stemming the tide of defaults and delinquencies.

3. H.R. 384 attempts to “fix” the “Hope for Homeowners” program (P.L. 110-289), and make it a more attractive option for lenders and borrowers.  But in doing so, the bill abandons key safeguards in the original legislation that were designed to protect taxpayers from bearing huge losses when mortgages re-worked under the program default.  For example, H.R. 384 strikes the payment of upfront premiums paid to the Federal Housing Administration for providing the government guarantee (and sharply reduces the required annual premium), increases the permissible loan-to-value ratios, and cancels the government’s share of the profits in the event of long-term home price appreciation.

There has been a plethora of criticism from other quarters as well concerning the Frank bill and the larger effort by Democratic congressional leaders to ensure the remaining $350 billion in taxpayer funds is released. Read the rest of this entry »

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American Taxpayers Deserve a TARP Exit Strategy

Leader Boehner has an op-ed in today’s USA Today in which he expresses his reservations about approving the second tranche – which would amount to $350 billion – of money from the so-called TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program).  The Treasury Department has already blown through the first $350 billion, but the money was spent with little transparency and virtually no accountability.  This morning in USA Today, Leader Boehner argues that unless dramatic changes are made and a clear exit strategy is defined that would get the federal government back out of the private sector, Congress should not approve the release of any further TARP money.

This program has gone off the rails.  As Leader Boehner stated in his op-ed:

Funds that were intended to buy up “toxic assets” to help unlock the credit markets at the heart of the financial crisis suddenly made their way elsewhere. Some went to help financial institutions acquire other banks. Some went to the automobile companies. And some…well, we don’t really know where some of it went. Is it any wonder that taxpayers are outraged?

Moreover, given the mismanagement of the first $350 billion, Leader Boehner asks a reasonable question:

How could Washington even consider asking middle-class families and small businesses to cough up another $350 billion for this program?

American taxpayers deserve a TARP exit strategy, and major changes in the way the program is operated.  Until taxpayers get these things, Congress should not even consider releasing the remaining TARP money

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Keep the Airwaves Free of the Fairness Doctrine

Leading Democrats are pushing to restore the “Fairness Doctrine” - an antiquated idea which would effectively silence critics of the government. This blatant attempt to quash those who disagree with the Democrats should offend all who cherish their First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. The right to speak one’s mind is diminished - and effectively silenced - if it cannot find a voice on the radio, television, or the internet.

The American people should not have to get approval from bureaucrats in Washington before they speak their mind on any given issue. Republicans in the Congress agree with that sentiment - and have taken to heart Voltaire’s famous declaration (”I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it”) by introducing the Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2009.

The bill, introduced January 7, 2009, by Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), chairman of the House Republican Conference, Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR), Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, and Senator John Thune (R-SD), Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, would prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine, which would suppress free speech by requiring the government to monitor political views and decide what constitutes fair political discourse. The Pence-Walden bill in the House already has over 100 cosponsors including Republican Leader Boehner.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Congress Comes to YouTube (again)…But it Almost Didn’t Happen

Today marks the launch of a new collaborative effort between The U.S. Congress and YouTube.com.  The House Hub and Senate Hub have been developed to make it easier for visitors to find their elected officials and their YouTube channels.  YouTube and other popular technologies continue to empower American citizens with real-time information about the policy debates and actions being undertaken by Congress.

As we see more and more members from both sides of the aisle embrace web video and social media, it’s easy to forget that only a few months ago Democrats on the House Administration Committee were proposing rules that would have brought this free flow of information to a screeching halt.  The proposed rules, including an “approved list” of websites that could be used by members of Congress, would have amounted to new government censorship of the Internet by a panel of federal officials that is neither neutral or independent.

Using the very tools Democrats proposed to restrict, citizens spoke out in the thousands.  Thankfully, House Republicans, led by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and Tom Price (R-GA), and supported strongly by Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) and Leader Boehner, expressed their strong opposition to this attack on Internet freedom and proposed an alternative solution that would allow Members of Congress to continue posting content at sites of their choosing.  House Republicans’ recommendations were eventually adopted by the Committee on House Administration.

House Republicans will continue fight to increase transparency and openness in government using technology and any other means at our disposal.  If you have any thoughts on how we can better achieve these goals, let us know in the comments or as a video response to Leader Boehner’s welcome video below.

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