Specter on Economic Stimulus Bill
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today made the following comments during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup on the economic stimulus bill:
“I recognize fully the enormous problems which our nation’s economy faces. I am prepared to support a stimulus package, but I want to be as sure as I can that the monies which we appropriate will be directed in a meaningful way to create jobs as promptly as possible, and not in the future.
“I wrote to the Chairman and Ranking urging that we follow regular order. We did not follow regular order in passage of the bailout bill. We were faced with a very serious situation as everyone will recall on September 29th when the House failed to pass the bill and the market plunged 777 points. We came back at 7:30pm on Wednesday the 1st and by a vote of 74-25 passed that measure. I voted for it with grave reservations because of our failure to follow regular order. We started with a four-page bill, ended up with 414 pages - hardly time to read it, no hearings, no markup, no floor debate, and no amendments. It was filled with provisions that caught most of us by surprise, including a lot of the flagrant pork.
“I traveled in October and I heard loud complaints from my constituents; I’m sure they were registered all over the country. Now we’re facing another situation where we are being asked to complete legislation by February 13th in time for a recess. I have grave doubt that that’s a wise course of action. In fact, I think it is not a wise course of action. There is no doubt we have to move promptly, but the old saying is that we have to do it right as opposed to doing it fast.”
“I recognize fully the enormous problems which our nation’s economy faces. I am prepared to support a stimulus package, but I want to be as sure as I can that the monies which we appropriate will be directed in a meaningful way to create jobs as promptly as possible, and not in the future.
“I wrote to the Chairman and Ranking urging that we follow regular order. We did not follow regular order in passage of the bailout bill. We were faced with a very serious situation as everyone will recall on September 29th when the House failed to pass the bill and the market plunged 777 points. We came back at 7:30pm on Wednesday the 1st and by a vote of 74-25 passed that measure. I voted for it with grave reservations because of our failure to follow regular order. We started with a four-page bill, ended up with 414 pages - hardly time to read it, no hearings, no markup, no floor debate, and no amendments. It was filled with provisions that caught most of us by surprise, including a lot of the flagrant pork.
“I traveled in October and I heard loud complaints from my constituents; I’m sure they were registered all over the country. Now we’re facing another situation where we are being asked to complete legislation by February 13th in time for a recess. I have grave doubt that that’s a wise course of action. In fact, I think it is not a wise course of action. There is no doubt we have to move promptly, but the old saying is that we have to do it right as opposed to doing it fast.”
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