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Votes for the $787 Billion "Spendulous"
Bill
There's
and then there is
Pat Murphy
voted yes to pass
the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February
2009 and had previously voted in January 2009 to pass an $819 billion
dollar spending plan which failed in the Senate. This is better
known as the "stimulus bill" or just "the stimulus." One of the
main problems is that many economists predict this will not stimulate
the economy but instead grow government and force the government into
massive deficit spending.
It is clear Murphy heeded to
the leaders of his party such as Rahm Emanuel, who stated in late 2008
with the economy faltering "You never want a serious crisis to go to
waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you
think you could not do before", and voted for this massive spending
package not to waste this opportunity to grow government.
The Wall Street Journal provided an excellent analysis of this.
There were
seven Democrats who voted against
the spendulous bill and
with every single House GOP member who all voted now as well.
Those Democrats were Bobby Bright of Montgomery, Alabama, Peter
DeFazio of Springfield, Oregon, Parker Griffiths of Huntsville,
Alabama, Walt Minnick of Boise, Idaho, Collin Peterson of Fergus Falls
Minnesota, Heath Shuler of Asheville, North Carolina, Gene Taylor of
Pass Christian, Mississippi. Why didn't Blue Dog Pat Murphy vote
no?
Stimulus or Waste: You Decide
When Murphy voted
yes on this bill he voted to spend our tax dollars in the name of
"stimulating the economy" on the following including
$1 billion for the US Census
and now it is revealed much of this will go towards
"finding people" in large urban areas as reported by the
New York Times.
- $2 billion earmark to
re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois
that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the
project was inefficient.
• A $246 million tax
break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film.
• $650 million for the
digital television converter box coupon program.
• $88 million for the
Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship).
• $448 million for
constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters.
• $248 million for
furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters.
• $600 million to buy
hybrid vehicles for federal employees.
• $400 million for the
Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD's.
• $1.4 billion for rural
waste disposal programs.
• $125 million for the
Washington sewer system.
• $150 million for
Smithsonian museum facilities.
• $1 billion for the 2010
Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion.
• $75 million for
"smoking cessation activities."
• $200 million for public
computer centers at community colleges.
• $75 million for
salaries of employees at the FBI.
• $25 million for tribal
alcohol and substance abuse reduction.
• $500 million for flood
reduction projects on the Mississippi River.
• $10 million to inspect
canals in urban areas.
• $6 billion to turn
federal buildings into "green" buildings.
• $500 million for state
and local fire stations.
• $650 million for
wildland fire management on forest service lands.
• $1.2 billion for "youth
activities," including youth summer job programs.
• $88 million for
renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service.
• $412 million for CDC
buildings and property.
• $500 million for
building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in
Bethesda, Maryland.
• $160 million for "paid
volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• $5.5 million for
"energy efficiency initiatives" at the Department of Veterans Affairs
National Cemetery Administration.
• $100 million for
reducing the hazard of lead-based paint.
• $75 million to
construct a "security training" facility for State Department Security
officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other
agencies.
• $110 million to the
Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems.
• $200 million in funding
for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military
installations.
For some reason Congressman Murphy believes that massive increase in
government spending will somehow stimulate the private economy and
create jobs for the private economy and the citizens of Bucks County.
The above illustrate that
it will simply increase the size and scope of government and pay for
even more and more government workers which will require increased
taxation to support.
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