Boehner: Rejected Stimulus Dollars Should Be Returned to U.S. Treasury to Pay Down National Debt
Apr 24, 2009
Washington -
Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today applauded Reps. Jean Schmidt and Michael Turner for announcing they will introduce legislation to allow Warren County (OH) to return rejected federal “stimulus” dollars to the U.S. Treasury to pay down the national debt.
“Local leaders in Warren County, Liberty Township and other communities are standing up for our children and grandchildren by taking a principled stand against Washington’s insistence on spending money we simply do not have,” Boehner said. “The funds Warren County has declined should be returned to the federal Treasury to reduce the national debt, and I commend Jean Schmidt and Mike Turner for their leadership in writing legislation to help ensure this happens. I hope House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will allow the bill to come to a vote immediately once it is introduced.
“The trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ passed by Congress recently was an act of generational theft, putting hundreds of billions of debt on our children and grandchildren to pay for projects that in far too many cases will not create jobs. We could have passed legislation that created twice as many jobs at half the cost. I and Rep. Eric Cantor personally presented the President with just such a proposal. Unfortunately, this more responsible approach was rejected by the Democratic Congress, and our now our children are paying the price,” Boehner noted.
NOTE: On March 17, 2009, Warren County Commissioners voted unanimously to reject $373,000 in federal stimulus dollars that were earmarked for the purchase of three shuttle vans. Warren County, however, did not apply for the money, and officials made clear that the county’s current fleet of vans adequate to suit residents’ needs. In rejected the funds, commissioners said they were concerned about funding requirements once the federal dollars dried up.
Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Darke, Miami and Preble counties, most of Butler and Mercer counties, and the northeastern corner of Montgomery County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.
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