JUST SAY "NO" TO MASSIVE PORK-BARREL BILL
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives will vote on the largest one time spending bill in the nation's history. This $825 billion monstrosity is masquerading as "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," or the "stimulus" bill. In fact, most of the funds will go to long-range government projects that will do nothing to help the American economy recover from recession. It also includes hidden provisions that could lay the groundwork for government-run health care! Contrary to media reports, there are no tax cuts in this bill and the means-tested tax credit provisions expire in 2010, when the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts will also expire, thus adding to the biggest tax increase in U.S. history.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Obama have claimed this bill is all about "immediate spending" to support "infrastructure projects." The House bill actually allocates about 3.5 percent of its funds to highway projects and the Democrats own Congressional Budget Office said only a fraction, about $4 billion of $30 billion could be spent within two years. In its analysis, the CBO said that less than half of all the discretionary spending could be spent before 2011.
NO TAX CUTS:
Where is the money really going? The same government programs we have now, food stamps, a hodgepodge of job training programs, and $45 billion for a tax credit, only most of the tax credit will go to people who do not pay taxes. For those who do pay taxes, the tax credit is phased out for those "wealthy" individuals making more than $75,000 per year. There is some targeted tax relief for businesses, but these expire in 2010 as well.
The wasteful government programs funded in this bill in the name of "economic recovery" are too numerous to mention, but here are just a few;
- $400 million to NASA for another Climate Change study
- $500 million for "Energy Efficiency Demonstration Projects"
- $200 million for contraceptives to support "family planning services"
- $200 million to spruce up the National Mall including $21 million for new sod
HIDDEN PROVISIONS ON HEALTH CARE RATIONING:
Hidden away in this massive bill is a $1.1 billion appropriation to establish a new federal board with an innocent sounding name, the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. In reality, this is a board long advocated by Obama's new health czar, Tom Daschle, which would define what the government will support as "effective healthcare." In other words, health care rationing. Eventually, this board would gain powers in the coming health care overhaul Daschle will propose.
We at the American Conservative Union thank you for all you do to advance conservative free-market principles.
Sincerely,
Larry Hart
Director of Government Relations
American Conservative Union
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