[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[House]
[Pages 1106-1107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, our economy is at a crossroads. Low- and 
middle-income families are struggling to make ends meet. Rising food, 
energy, and housing prices combined with slow job creation and lower 
wages are straining our economy. The Federal Reserve continues to act, 
but it is clear that Congress must enact a temporary, targeted, and 
timely economic stimulus package. The American economy needs a quick 
stimulus, and low- and middle-income Americans need swift action as our 
economy works through these difficult times.
  I rise to commend the bipartisan leadership of Speaker Pelosi and 
Leader Boehner who, along with President Bush, crafted an economic 
stimulus package that will not only provide the assistance our economy 
needs, but also will provide a helping hand to the American families 
currently struggling with the slowing economy.
  It is refreshing to see Republicans and Democrats come together and 
put partisanship aside and develop this critical legislation together. 
The American people should be proud of this effort, and I am pleased to 
have supported this important first step earlier today.

[[Page 1107]]

  Mr. Speaker, while important, the stimulus package this House voted 
on today is simply a first step in the road toward stimulating our 
economy. Speaker Pelosi deserves incredible credit for negotiating the 
inclusion of a refundable tax rebate that will be delivered to anyone 
earning $3,000 or more and the inclusion of a $300 per-child rebate. 
Again, this is a good start.
  Yet there are millions of Americans who will not benefit from this 
current stimulus package because they do not file income taxes. Any 
American who has exhausted or will exhaust their unemployment will not 
receive the help they need. States struggling with higher health care 
costs will be forced to balance their budgets on the backs of low-
income individuals because there is no Medicaid assistance included in 
this package. And most importantly, a temporary extension of the food 
stamp program is sorely missing from this economic stimulus package.
  Experts across the political and ideological spectrum agree that we 
must develop a plan that helps the most vulnerable people and 
households and that allows currency to flow. Former Reagan economic 
adviser, Martin Feldstein; former Clinton Treasury Secretary, Lawrence 
Summers; the Congressional Budget Office; economists at Goldman Sachs; 
and the chief economist at Moodys.com all agree that food stamps give 
the biggest bang for the buck and should be part of an economic 
stimulus.
  According to the Congressional Budget Office: ``The vast majority of 
food stamp benefits are spent extremely rapidly. And because food stamp 
recipients have low income and few assets, most of any additional 
benefits would probably be spent quickly.''
  Administrative costs of such an increase are negligible, meaning that 
the majority of this stimulus will go directly into the economy. A 10 
percent temporary increase in food stamps would result in an increase 
of almost 50 cents per day per person or $14 per month in the food 
stamp benefit. That may not seem like much, but an extra 50 cents a day 
can make the world of difference for someone struggling to feed 
themselves.
  More importantly, a temporary increase in food stamp benefits would 
generate $1.73 in economic activity for every dollar in cost, and we 
know that a temporary increase in food stamps can be delivered quickly 
and will be spent right away.
  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan economic stimulus package is not 
perfect. But as I said earlier, it is a good first step. The Senate has 
a chance to make some improvements in this bill, most notably targeted 
and temporary increases in food stamps and unemployment insurance. I, 
for one, hope the United States Senate acts responsibly by including 
these important programs in their version of the stimulus package.
  It is critical that this stimulus package move quickly, but it is 
just as critical that it include stimulus that jump- starts the economy 
and gives assistance to those who truly need it.
  And if the Senate includes funding for these critical programs, I 
strongly urge all my colleagues to support it, and I urge President 
Bush to then sign it into law. It is the right thing to do for our 
economy, and it is the right thing to do for the millions of low-income 
Americans who will not benefit from this stimulus package as it is 
currently written.

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