Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Photo credit: John Shinkle
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted President Barack Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment plan on Capitol Hill this morning. The highest ranking Senate Republican says Obama needs to go back to his original plan to offer "40-percent tax relief, no wasteful spending and a bipartisan approach" to get McConnell's support.
McConnell says the economy is the top issue on the mind of all Americans. Just this week several company's such as Starbucks and GM announced more job cuts and the unemployment rate reached an all time high of more than four million. Republican leaders say Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment plan will not strengthen the economy or create jobs in it's current form.
Obama's stimulus bill passed through the House of Representatives Wednesday night without any GOP support and 11 Democrat dissenters. McConnell says the bill "doesn't fix the main problem; which is housing." He also added, "We need tax payers to keep more of what they earn. Not spend dollars we don't have on programs we don't need."
The House bill has been criticized for providing hundreds of millions of dollars for sexual transmitted disease education in schools, buying cars for federal employees, beautifying ATV trails and spiffying up the Department of Commerce headquarters among other items.
With the nation facing a trillion dollar deficit, McConnell and many Republican Senators are likely to vote against the President's economic recovery plan. They plan to offer amendments to improve the legislation when it comes up for debate next week.
Comments
I'm glad all the Republicans are voting against thiks wasteful bill.
O'Bamam needs to cut taxes and stop government spending. It's the only way. These liberal politicians have sucked us dry long enough.
Obama and the Congress need to take Rush Limbaugh's advice. Tax cuts are what is needed.
Go Mitch -- this "stimulus" is a sham!!
We all know the old song -- Bush spent too much. Bush ran up the deficit. Bush bombed Pakistan -- oh, wait, that was Obama. Well, anyway, my point is, where is the professed CHANGE?!
I think that perhaps President Obama should consider some of the Republicans suggestions on the recovery plan.
Cut the tax cuts for wealthier from the stim - they have not worked and we tried and tried them over the last decades. If tx cuts worked we'd be at full employment now!
Reps lost the election because they mismanaged the econ among other things, so they should give another policy a try or get out of the way. Vast maj of Rep Govs are for this bill because they know how bad it is out here.
Nothing wrong with spending for science and the arts - they make our life better and have been starved in last decade.
The BEST stimulus would be a federal tax holiday for the next year. A few hundred dollars a week to every worker would do FAR more to stimulate the economy than this POS bill.
This is proof that those in the corrupt government DO NOT want us to have any say where money gets spent.
I am sure the mice in Pelosi's district will all feel better with their $3,000,000,000.
Corruptocrats in DC will not allow us to KEEP our money, they prefer us to send them a dollar and send back to our state .40 cents.
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