[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 9 (Thursday, January 15, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H374-H375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WHO'S GOING TO SPEND THE MONEY?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we took up the issue of the Troubled 
Asset Recovery, whatever TARP stands for. $350 billion has been thrown, 
as one man wished it to be, as he directed.
  There's another $350 billion that has been allocated. Now, the 
question is, who's going to spend it?
  Now, I've got a bill that I filed, it was, I think, the first bill 
laid down over here on the Clerk's desk the minute after we were sworn 
in, and it's a bill to allow the people that earned the money to spend 
it. The Treasury Secretary would have to put it in the general revenue 
and use that to cover any shortfalls from withholding not coming in.
  This isn't some rebate where we spend millions to let people know you 
may get a rebate check, and then millions to process it, and then by 
and by, pie in the sky, they get a rebate check down the road for $300, 
$600. This is real money we're talking about, in the account, in the 
hands of those who earned it as soon as they get their paycheck. If we 
pass this bill next Thursday that I've proposed, people on their Friday 
paychecks could have all of their Federal withholding in that check, 
all of their FICA withholding in that check.
  So anybody that's working, performing services, including self-
employed, they have a 2-month tax holiday. That money is immediately in 
their hands, in the economy, not some bureaucrat in Washington who is 
so arrogant that he thinks you couldn't possibly know where to spend 
that money to help the economy and help yourself.
  So, we've asked, we surveyed people who have e-mailed in and asked, 
what would you--look at the withholding and see what, tell us what you 
would use your money for. Number 1 answer? Pay off credit cards, catch 
up on loans, including the mortgage.
  Well, Paulson's out there spending hundreds of billions of dollars to 
try to loosen up lending so people can refinance and borrow more money 
to catch up on the mortgage they got behind on in the last year, many, 
back when gas prices were $4 a gallon. Let them catch up with their own 
money. They don't need another loan.
  Others said they'd go out to eat. They'd stop, they'd use it for 
entertainment. Others said they'd invest it in their small business to 
develop it. Others said they'd invest it in the stock markets. That 
would help the market.
  Ten percent of those said they'd use it to buy a new home. That would 
help them with their down payment. There's so much in the withholding. 
Others said they'd use it to buy a car. Some said they'd put it in 
savings. But that would give banks more money to make more loans, so 
that would be a good thing as well.
  Some got very specific. They said they'd buy farm supplies, help with 
their college education this year. Some said they'd buy insulation for 
their home to help on the energy bill. One said he'd buy a stove and an 
oven. Another said he'd use--well, there were many who said they'd 
repair and remodel their home. Others said they'd pay for medical 
procedures that they need. How about that? It's not some guy in 
Washington paying. It's the people that earned the money that would get 
to spend it.
  Another was going to put on a new roof for his home so his family 
would be dryer and warmer. The people that earned the money know what 
to do with it.
  It is the height of arrogance that in this body, we'd say, no, no, 
no, Gohmert's got this bill, H.R. 143, that lets the people that earned 
it have a 2-month tax holiday. We can't do that. We can't let that come 
to the floor for a vote.
  I proposed this amendment yesterday. Got shut out. They didn't want 
it on the floor. Probably pass. People would be afraid to vote against 
the people. And that's what that vote is.

[[Page H375]]

  But I just submit, Madam Speaker, if this continues, and I keep being 
shut out on getting this idea from the people for the people by the 
people, and the votes keep being that we can't bring a bill like that 
to the floor for a vote, it may be, come November of 2010 that the 
voters will say, we want to elect somebody that will do what needs 
doing and not helping their cronies.
  Oh, yes, we heard, well, the leadership over here in the House has 
the idea for this great TARP money. We're going to use it for 
infrastructure. Oh, yeah. Well, apparently the bill being proposed only 
has 5 or 6 percent for infrastructure.
  You let people have their own money, you let them spend it where they 
need spending, the money will be in the economy, the economy will 
increase, and everybody will be better off and the people will have 
heard from us as they wanted.

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