Senate Proceeding on Feb 13th, 2009 :: 5:14:40 to 5:23:50
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5:14:36 to 5:14:56( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: this is our opportunity. let's get this passed today. thank you, mr. president. and i yield the floor. a senor: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, the moment of truth is almost here. the time when we will all have to cast our vote. and i would submit,

5:14:40 to 5:23:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Thune
Bill: H.R. 1: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

5:14:57 to 5:15:17( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: mr. predent, that this is a sad day for our country and a sad day for the american taxpayer and it's a sad day for future generations who will be left paying for this trillion dollar spending bill. mr. president, the american people are hurting and they are demanding action. unfortunately congress has failed the american people and lost an incredible opportunity

5:15:18 to 5:15:39( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: to empower small businesses, owners fixing our housing cris, turning our economy around. there are so many things that could have been done with this opportunity, with this piece of legislation that actually would have meaningfully led to job creation and economic stimulus. in a few short hours the final bill language has been available, it is clear that the democratic leadership has turned

5:15:40 to 5:16:00( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: a deaf ear to the american taxpayer. the final spe spending on wasteful government projects that have outraged taxpayers across the country. the final bill includes tax benefits for golf carts, 00 million for federal employee company cars, billion for acon eligible block- acorn eligible

5:16:01 to 5:16:22( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: block grants, 65 billion for fish hatcheries, billion for the censu instead of electric golf carts an fish barriers, mr. president, congress should have focused on serious proposals to address the housing crisis and created jobs through small business tax relief. there were a number of opportunities -- i view this as the question of what could have been.

5:16:23 to 5:16:44( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: a number of amendments that were offered last week that i think really would have addressed the crisis that we face in this country with respect to housing and job creation and getting our economy back on to a path to recovery, senator mccain a mearsz and a group of other -- martinez and other senators offered an alternative that would have focused on wasteful

5:16:45 to 5:17:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: spending and significant tax relief. it it included a fiscally responsible proposal that would have cut off new spending after two consecutive quarters of expect growth greater than 2% of inflation adjusted g.d.p. the alternative plan would have invested approximatel5 billion in transtakes infrastructure and

5:17:06 to 5:17:28( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: resetting our combat forces, targeted spending that would have rehabilitated the military facilities and equipment while creating jobs over the next nine months, important tax relief that would have put money back in the hands of average middle-income famies in this country and put incent nifs place for small businesses to go out an create jobs and hire employees and purchase equipment. those sort of things.

5:17:29 to 5:17:50( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: what is really unbelievable and in my view a major flaw in the democrat stimulus bill, mr. present, is this simple fact, the bill that we will be voting on spends billion on federal buildings and only billion on small business tax relief.

5:17:51 to 5:18:11( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: small businesses which create most of the jobs in economy,.5% of the -- 75% of the jobs in this country are created by small businesses, we need to figure out how to get the economic billion for fedal buildings

5:18:12 to 5:18:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: an only billion on small business tax relief. a small amount. it amounts to one-third of 1% of the final stimulus bill that is actually going to small business tax relief. in terms of the w the bill breaks down, 27% of the bill -- the almost trillion dollar bill is in tax relief in

5:18:33 to 5:18:53( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: some form or tax provisions, many of us would argue it is meaningful tax relief. there are better ways to deliver tax relief. the rest is in the area of spending. 37% of that spending doesn't oh -- 47% of that spending doesn't occur in 2009 or 2010, 11.3% will be spent in 2009.

5:18:54 to 5:19:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: it means one thing, that there is a lot of spending in this bill that can't be characterized as stoivment in other words, it is spending that will go on and on and on for years to come. in fact what is remarkable about it, the late president ronald reagan said that the closest thing to immortality on the is a government program.

5:19:16 to 5:19:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: there is a response to the c.b.o. posed by a house member of congress regarding some of the spending in the bill and what would happen if the 20 most popular government programs that are funded in this bill if, in fact, at the end of the two years the funding doesn't terminate and it continues, in other words, a lot of this is spending that will go on and on over time.

5:19:37 to 5:19:57( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: what the c.b.o. found, mr. president, is that the total cost of this bill if those programs are expended, bear in mind these are popular things, things that will be difficult to turn off th continues, the cost of this

5:19:58 to 5:20:19( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: thing explodes .27 trillion in just the interest alone alone, 44 billion. .27 trillion for much of the spending in this bill if it is continued beyond the two-year window. according to c.b.o. only 47% of the spending part of this stimulus bill actually gets spent in 2009 and 20 106789

5:20:20 to 5:20:41( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: there are so -- 2010. there are so many better ways that this could have been done. i mentioned the mccain amendment, i offered an alternative which was focused on tax relief for middle income families and small businesses, which according to the methodology developed by the president's own economist,

5:20:42 to 5:21:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: christina romer would have created twice as many jobs at half the cost, 6.2 million jobs and the cost of this amendment voted down was 40 billion or in rough turms half of what we're looking -- terms, half of what we're looking at on the bill we're going to vote on today. i don't agree that we should

5:21:03 to 5:21:25( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: spend this amount of money. i think it is stealing from future generations, if we're going to do it, the question is: should washington spend it or the american people? i took the total amount and divided it by every taxpayer, and we could have given a rebate

5:21:26 to 5:21:46( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: to a single filer of ,403, and a married couple of 0,486. if weake the total amount and divide it among the taxpayers in this country, i would be willing to bet that the people in this country would rather have this check rather than the money going to washington, d.c., to spend on these new programs many of which will create obligations and liabilities for generations

5:21:47 to 5:22:08( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: to come. mr. president, i think that we missed a golden opportunity here. i think that we created a whole new realm of spending that will go on for some time in future. it is not fair to our children and grandchildren. the federal government needs to learn to live within its means and i can tell you as someone who comes from the prairie, when

5:22:09 to 5:22:29( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: the prairie pioneer settles in south dakota and places like that, they understand a basic ethic, and that is they were going to have to sacrifice so that their children and grandchildren, future generations could have a better life. what we have done with this bill is turned that very ethic entirely on its head. what we are asking future generations to do is to

5:22:30 to 5:22:50( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: sacrifice by handing them a trillion dollar debt and -- in order that we here and now can have a better life and that we can't live up to the obligations that we have to pay our bills on time. so, mr. president, it is a sad day. it is unftunate. it could have been much different. it could have been a lot more

5:22:51 to 5:23:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: input from our side with regard to the shape of this bill. it is a bill heavy on spending and not only temporary spending, but spending that will continue to it go on for some time into the future and create obligations down the road. as i said, if this is correct and the c.b.o. responds to this letter is accurate, if these programs continue to be funded and don't terminate at the end

5:23:16 to 5:23:36( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: of this tw period, .27 trillion in liablies we're creating today by voting for this legislation it is not fair to our children and grandchildren, mr. president. it is not fair to the future generations who will bear the costs of the fact that we cannot live we cannot come up with a way to fund an economic rovery plan that creates jobs and helps

5:23:37 to 5:23:50( Edit History Discussion )

John Thune: stimulate the economy and get this recovery under way in a fashion that's fiscally responsible. so i regret the fact that i will be voting no on this bill, mr. president. and i would urge my colleagues here in the united states senate