CBO: Congressional Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Package "Falls Short of Obama Goal"

MONDAY, JAN 26, 2008

The House will meet at 12:30pm

TUESDAY, JAN 27, 2008

The House will meet at 10:30am

WEDNESDAY, JAN 28, 2008

The House will meet at 10am

THURSDAY, JAN 29, 2008

The House is not in session

FRIDAY, JAN 30, 2008

The House is not in session

Leader Alert

CBO: Congressional Democrats' Trillion Dollar Spending Package "Falls Short of Obama Goal"
Non-Partisan Congressional Budget Director Warns of a "Noticeable Lag" Between Big Spending Increases and Their Impact on the Economy

Washington, Jan 27 - As the House prepares to debate the trillion dollar spending bill written by a handful of congressional Democrats, supporters of the bloated legislation have endured yet another harsh blow from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). A Reuters story titled “Stimulus Bill Falls Short of Obama Goal-CBO Report” reports that the director of CBO has advised that fast-acting tax relief for families and small businesses – not the slow-moving and wasteful government spending that dominates the congressional Democrats’ bill – would have the greatest impact on the economy in the shortest amount of time:

“New CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf noted that direct payments to individuals and cutting federal taxes would have the fastest impact while spending could take longer for a number of reasons, including time required for contracting procedures and other planning needs.”

“In the past for federal programs, there has been a ‘noticeable lag’ between big funding increases and spending, he said on the agency’s blog.”

“‘Based on such experiences, CBO expects that federal agencies, states and other recipients of funding would find it difficult to properly manage and oversee a rapid expansion of existing programs so as to spend added funds quickly as they expend their normal resources,’ Elmendorf said.”

Fast-acting tax relief for middle-class families, small businesses, job-seekers, and home-buyers is at the heart of the economic recovery proposals House Republicans have presented to President Obama. As he travels to Capitol Hill today to meet with congressional Republicans, will he intervene in this process – which has rapidly flown off the rails – and encourage House Democratic leaders to incorporate real tax relief and eliminate wasteful spending? In an editorial titled “Congress Must Focus Stimulus Package” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, notes that the President hasn’t intervened yet – but needs to:

“It’s easy to pick apart the bits and pieces that are coming to light: $200 million for the National Mall, $150 million for Coast Guard work on navigation hazards or $360 million for child care at military bases. One wish list approved by the Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee goes on for 12 pages…”

“There is little time and enormous pressure for results. But before the solutions are chosen, the administration must present a clear rationale for which items will qualify – and why – for an enormous spending plan that is supposed to lay the foundation for an economic recovery. That hasn’t happened yet.”

Indeed, with debate on the trillion dollar spending bill nearly underway and CBO confirming that the congressional Democrats’ bill is woefully inadequate in providing the jolt our economy needs, time is running short for both parties to come back together and forge a plan that provides fast-acting tax relief to help create new jobs across America. With President Obama poised to visit Capitol Hill in a matter of hours, can this process get back on track? Will Democratic leaders in Congress shift their focus back to creating jobs, rather than creating more government projects and programs?

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HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner