John Rep. Boozman: Stop Talk of Second Stimulus

by U.S. Rep. John Boozman (R-AR): Like many of you, I am concerned with the manner in which Washington is spending the hard earned tax dollars of American workers and families. I have fought against President Obama and Nancy Pelosi's spending spree, voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

It is very disconcerting to see and read media reports White House officials are open to the possibility of a second economic stimulus. A second stimulus implies there was a first, but the reality is the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was no more than a spending bill. To many of us, the lack of job creation and the pace with which the money is being spent is not a surprise. Job creation needed to be the focus, not spending. Private business, not big government will put Americans back to work.

The Obama Administration, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised that their trillion-dollar 'stimulus' would create jobs "immediately" and unemployment would not rise above eight percent. Unfortunately, that hasn't been true. In June alone, almost half a million jobs were lost, driving unemployment to 9.5 percent, its highest level in almost three decades.

Middle-class families, small businesses and Washington are all wondering the same thing - where are the jobs that we were promised this legislation would create? In almost five months since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was approved, spending is slow and job creation is minimal. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows the 'stimulus' isn't working as quickly as Democratic leaders assured us. This validates many concerns I had and many of the same concerns you shared with me prior to passage of this legislation; government spending is not the answer to jumpstart our economy.

Less than a month after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Speaker Pelosi was already talking about a possible need for a second stimulus and Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI) told his staff to begin drafting a second stimulus proposal. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) recently said on Fox News Sunday that he doesn't "think anybody can honestly say that we're satisfied with the results so far of the stimulus" and left open the possibility of a second stimulus. It is hard to believe that after rushing a $1 trillion stimulus bill through Congress, Democrat leaders are ready to borrow more taxpayer dollars.

Let's hope that if a second stimulus is developed, it will stimulate the economy, not just spend taxpayer dollars on projects that have little to no impact on American job creation. I think there will be much more resistance from Americans who just want their money back. I am committed to ensuring Arkansans and all Americans have quality jobs to provide for their families, but like the first stimulus, I'm not optimistic a second stimulus would have far better results.

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