Dreier Votes for Job Creation, Against Expanded Government

January 28, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas, CA), House Rules Committee Ranking Republican, voted today for a Republican-sponsored economic stimulus proposal that focused on job creation and tax relief for working Americans and against a bloated, trillion dollar package that would only grow government, not the economy. Dreier voted to approve the GOP alternative to H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The alternative failed by a vote of 170-266, while H.R. 1 was approved, 244-188.

“We don’t need any more proof that our economy is hurting, and the American people are too,” Dreier said. “That is why I voted for the GOP alternative that focused on tax relief for working Americans and the engines of economic growth, small businesses, and against the bill that spends way too much of the tax payers’ hard earned money. Regrettably, the bill approved by the House contains far too much government spending and not enough relief for working families. History tells us that we cannot spend our way back to prosperity. The better approach would be to let the American people keep more of their money and give small businesses the resources they need to retain and hire new employees. As this process moves forward, I hope the final product will look more like the GOP alternative than the bill passed by the House tonight.”

Congressman Dreier was a co-author of the GOP alternative to H.R. 1, which would do the following: reduce the lowest individual tax rates from 15% to 10% and from 10% to 5%, helping working families the most; allow small businesses (those employing less than 500 individuals) to take a tax deduction equal to 20% of their income, freeing up capital for investments or hiring; preclude any tax increases now or in the future to pay for new spending included in the bill; make unemployment benefits tax free so that individuals between jobs can focus on providing for their families and finding their next job; and, provide a $7,500 home-buyers credit to responsible buyers who make a minimum down-payment of 5%, in order to stabilize home values and get the real estate market moving again.

Dreier said the home-buyers tax credit, which was based on legislation he authored, H.R. 101, was especially critical to Southern California, where the housing market is hampering economic activity. “We need to remove the glut of unsold homes clogging the real estate market. This proposal would help accomplish that, and give working families more of a stake in their homes.”