Senate Proceeding on Feb 13th, 2009 :: 1:33:00 to 1:38:50
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1:32:58 to 1:33:18( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: i yield the the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. like my colleague from utah, mr. president, i too wish that i had something that i could vote for, something that i believe would stimulate the economy, would get the job done. but this package

1:33:00 to 1:38:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Barrasso
Bill: H.R. 1: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

1:33:19 to 1:33:39( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: size and based on its magnitude and based on what i believe are fundamental flaws within it, like my colleague, i need to vote "no." mr. president, the other day i was on a local radio station in caspar, wyoming -- ktwo -- with brian scott in the morning and brian said how are we going to

1:33:40 to 1:34:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: judge the success or failure of this bill? and as i said, because this is statewide in wyoming, ultimately the people of america will judge the success or failure of this bill. the people believe the government is working for them, then it's going to be a success. but if, on the other hand, t people of america believe that they're working for the government because of the debt

1:34:03 to 1:34:23( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: and they feel burdened by this package to increase taxes, through inflation, through less buying power, through more government regations, then people will judge it as a fail hraoufrplt i want it -- failure. i want it to wk. i want something that is going to make a difference in the lives of the people of wyoming and the peo brian then specifically said, how will it work?

1:34:24 to 1:34:45( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: how is the program actually going to work? and that's where i have to turn to the headlines and the sort of things that senator just talking about, because i don't think anyone knows. the members of this body don't know, the members of the house don't know. the program is much too big.

1:34:46 to 1:35:06( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: as alice rivlin, the former adviser to president bill clinton said we should go with something half the size. take a look and do the emergency spending now, and let these other programs, whether it has to do with energy, environment, education, health care, let's discuss those in a deliberate manner. but the headlines from "the washington post," "the trim to stimulus carves into goals for

1:35:07 to 1:35:27( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: job creation." are we supposed to try to create jobs? is is this what it is supposed to be all about, backed-up projects people have had as their pet pro years. another headline on the same page of the post "despite pledges, package has pork." sifting through the details of

1:35:28 to 1:35:49( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: the deal, as members of this body are waiting for copies to come to the floor. "investors business daily" stimulus bill funds programs deemed ineffective by the office of management and budget. page one headline: stimulus bill funds programs deemed ineffective by the office of management and budget. then why are those programs still here?

1:35:50 to 1:36:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: today's headline -- and that was yestery's "investors business daily. today's headline: "89.5 billion stimulus coming, but will it revive the economy?" we're going t spend all of this money, and every dollar that we spend that doesn't actually work economy is an extra dollar that

1:36:11 to 1:36:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: our children and their children are going to owe to foreign nations because we did not have the self-control to limit our spending now. and "wall street journal" today, the big question: "next challenge on stimulus: spending all that money."

1:36:33 to 1:36:54( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: senator bennett talked about it, a very expensive proposal that's going to be spent, and "the wall street journal" said, well, it will probably take about eight years. by then, this economy is going to have changed dramatically. so this next challenge, spending all the money, talks about the department of energy. what does it have to say? well, the department of energy is going to have to dramatically

1:36:55 to 1:37:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: change how it does business if it hopes to push all of this money out the they're going to need more people, more oversight and more freedom to waive regulations. they're going to spend all this money in a timely marine timely manner, because that is what this program is supposed to be: timely, temporary and targeted.

1:37:16 to 1:37:37( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: if they're going to be able to spend this money in a timely manner, they're going to have to be able to waive regulations. we'll see how well they do. this is department, the department of energy, that has a history -- a history -- of delays and of letting costs spiral during the delay process. and that's today's "wall street journal". now, is there waste in this

1:37:38 to 1:37:58( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: program? absolutely. but i think the people of wyoming get it right, and i've had telephone town hall meetings, been home every weekend for the last three weekends but the pal tribune, great community in northwest wyoming, palo, wyoming.

1:37:59 to 1:38:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: they have a headline that says stimulus: take time to get it right. if you live in pal, wyoming, and you write for the paper in pal, wyoming, you're not one to want to ever quote "the new york times." yet, in this editorial, they do. they talk about the "new york times." they say, ""new york times" editorial said, ' a bill that is merely better than nothing won't

1:38:23 to 1:38:43( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: be nearly good enough.'" a bill that is merely better than nothing won't be nearly good enough. "the economy is too fragile and the numbers are too mr. president, what i think we should do is people should, once the bills get to their desks, pack them up, take them home with them, read them on the plane, read them in the car, read them on the train, read them as they go home, and then

1:38:44 to 1:38:50( Edit History Discussion )

John Barrasso: talk to people at home about what's in the bill, and then come back and vote on this. and then i think that this