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˜ Ben Nelson
Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson delivered these speeches on the Senate floor today about the bipartisan economic recovery compromise he co-authored with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The Senate voted to accept the Nelson-Collins amendment and moved toward a final vote on February 10.
“I rise today to take action. For action is what is demanded by this American, and global, economic crisis. The economic recovery bill that came over from the House was a start. And the bill introduced in the Senate was better. But it wasn’t good enough and some elements didn’t seem to belong in a bill to create new jobs, save jobs people have now and return our economy to prosperity, soon. That’s why Senator Susan Collins of Maine and I worked with 12 Democrats and six Republicans to cut and tailor our bipartisan compromise, so it focuses like a laser-beam on tax cuts for the middle class and job creation for millions of Americans.
“Critics have gone to great lengths to find fault. That’s the old Washington way that leads straight down the path to partisan bickering, deadlock and a dead end. Many have said the bill spends too much, others have said it cuts too much spending. That is a sign that it’s just about right. We cut $110 billion of inefficient or less-stimulative spending out of the previous bill. As I’ve said, we’ve trimmed the fat, fried the bacon, and milked the sacred cows.
“We didn’t have a closed-door negotiating session last week as some have said. All senators were invited, all were welcome to participate. In fact, several Republican colleagues participated and although they have declined to support the final proposal, they helped shape the plan and their contributions were valuable.
“Some critics say other approaches would be better for our ailing economy. But no other plan has enough bipartisan support—and that’s what you must have in the Senate—to get the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. The time for talk is over; it’s time to act.
“I believe the bipartisan plan is the best chance for Congress to stop a massive economic avalanche. In just a years’ time that avalanche has swept away jobs for 3.6 million Americans—including many in my state of Nebraska—and nearly half nationwide vanished in the last three months. The avalanche has erased billions of dollars in assets, driven anxiety up and pushed our economy down toward the worst condition in seven decades. And it’s accelerating. People in Nebraska and across America are losing their homes every day. The cost of inaction would be far, far higher than the cost of this bill. And acting later when we are in a deeper recession or a depression will cost even more.
“Other critics of the bipartisan plan also say we are creating too much debt to leave to our children. They have not learned from the past. The surest way to get out of debt is the way we have before – economic growth. Let’s review: In 1993 when President Clinton inherited a deficit of over $300 billion, we grew our way out of it with tax cuts and jobs that lowered unemployment, increased productivity, and increase revenues. With the help of Congress, he turned that deficit into a surplus of over $200 billion.
“President Obama has inherited a deficit of about half a trillion dollars, and now we must again restart the American prosperity engine with a lean diet of tax cuts and jobs for the middle class. This is not only the fastest plan to get us out of the economic slide, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
“While it certainly is easier to stay on the sidelines, it is our responsibility as members of Congress to the American citizens and taxpayers to approve a recovery plan that is tailored, targeted, and lean. One that reduces taxes so middle class Americans can get by today, and creates American jobs so we can grow our way out of this crisis.
“Some say we’ve cut too much from important programs, such as help for struggling states. We did reduce spending by $40 billion, leaving $39 billion, because we didn’t want to offer a taxpayer-backed blank check to states with little accountability or promise of job creation. The plan leaves unchanged $87 billion in aid to states under Medicaid. Let’s be clear, the cuts our group found are reductions in new spending, and not actual cuts.
“The more than $300 billion tax cuts will help families with children, college students, homebuyers, commuters and businesses. They also offer incentives to expand renewable energy and promote energy efficiency. Cutting taxes has always been a key way government can drive private sector job and economic growth, and the economic recovery plan we’ll consider delivers major tax cuts.
“The $110 billion leaner spending side of the plan will fuel, save and create jobs in towns, townships and cities across America. It still provides robust support for infrastructure projects that will fix and build roads, bridges, highways and sewer systems. It will improve community health centers, refurbish child care centers, extend broadband Internet service and repair housing. Those upgrades will leave a lasting legacy long beyond the terms of the legislation.
Our refocused bipartisan proposal isn’t perfect. But it will, in my view, do the job we need right now, and it will get many, many Americans back on the job while keeping many others on their jobs.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to Senator Susan Collins, Senator Olympia Snowe, Senator Joe Lieberman and Senator Arlen Specter, and the more than a dozen others who joined our negotiations, who rather than taking the easy path of criticism, saw the need for resolute action, and joined in the task of building our American recovery. For we believe in the hard work and ingenuity of the American people, and that is how we will return to prosperity as only Americans can, and has.”
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