Republicans Defiant, But House Passes Massive Stimulus Bill

Republicans Defiant, But House Passes Massive Stimulus Bill
Newsmax
(Snipets from the article)
The vote was 244-188.

“We don’t have a moment to spare,” Obama declared at the White House as congressional allies hastened to do his bidding in the face of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The vote sent the bill to the Senate, where debate is expected to begin as early as this week on a companion measure already taking shape. Democratic leaders have pledged to have legislation ready for Obama’s signature by mid-February.

A mere eight days after Inauguration Day, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday’s events heralded a new era. “The ship of state is difficult to turn,” said the California Democrat. “But that is what we must do. That is what President Obama called us to do in his inaugural address.”

“Another week that we delay is another 100,000 or more people unemployed. I don’t think we want that on our consciences,” said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and one of the leading architects of the legislation.

Republicans said the bill was short on tax cuts and contained too much spending, much of it wasteful and unlikely to help laid-off Americans.

The party’s leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, said the measure “won’t create many jobs, but it will create plenty of programs and projects through slow-moving government spending.” A GOP alternative, comprised almost entirely of tax cuts, was defeated, 266-170, moments before the final vote.

On the final vote, the legislation drew overwhelming support among Democrats while all but a few Republicans opposed it. ……..This is NOT TRUE! ` Wild Thing

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, sought to strip out all the spending from the legislation before final passage, arguing that the entire cost of the bill would merely add to soaring federal deficits. “Where are we going to get the money,” he asked, but his attempt failed overwhelmingly, 302-134.

Obey had a ready retort. “They don’t look like Herbert Hoover, I guess, but there are an awful lot of people in this chamber who think like Herbert Hoover,” he said, referring to the president whose term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression.

House passes stimulus plan, but with no Republican votes
Politics AP
To their credit, not a single Republican supported the Obama bailout and social spending package. All 178 Republicans in the House of Representatives turned it down
The vote was 244 to 188. None of the House’s 178 Republican members voted yes.

Despite a fresh plea for cooperation from President Barack Obama, who insisted that “we don’t have a moment to spare,” Republicans spurned the Democratic bill.

Most Republicans will oppose this bill for one reason: It won’t work,” said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the chairman of the House Republican Conference, which helps promote party policies.

“We’re using our economic woes to grow government spending to epic and historic proportions,” charged Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif.

Some of the spending will be “wasteful,” said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. A plan to provide funds to help consumers convert to digital television “looks like a slush fund to me,” he said.

Wild Thing’s comment……..
And 11 Dems voted against it, I bet Obama will be taking names. And I I want to thank the House Republicans for standing strong!! Boehner and Cantor should get a lot of credit. Unanimous opposition is outstanding.
The job of our conservative representatives now is to minimize the impact of the Obama Administration on our institutions and our individual liberties. The Democrats will try to strip them away, one by one. The fight for our nation has just begun.

….Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67