McConnell: 'We need to get it right'
'At some point, the taxpayers will have to pay all of this back. And they're worried. Americans can't afford a trillion dollar mistake, however well meaning the intent'
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor Friday:
"From the very first moment of this debate, there's been strong bipartisan agreement on one thing: the original version of this bill was too big, too unfocused to work. The President, Senate Democrats, and just about every Senate Republican agreed this bill needed a massive overhaul.
"One Democrat senator said he was, 'very committed to making sure we get it scrubbed clean of many of these programs.' Another Democrat said, '...it needs some work. It needs some surgery.'
"Virtually everyone agreed this bill lacked focus, didn't create enough jobs, had too much permanent government expansion, and was just way too expensive with the national debt already reaching frightening new dimensions.
"The morning papers suggest that, in the Senate, these bipartisan concerns persist - and so do the concerns of most Americans. The more the American people learn about this bill, the less they like it.
"Americans realize that a bill which was meant to be timely, targeted, and temporary has instead become a Trojan horse for pet projects and expanded government.
"We've got a $1 trillion deficit. Our national debt exceeds $10 trillion. Soon we'll vote on an Omnibus Appropriations bill that will cost another $400 billion, bringing the total to $1 trillion for appropriations this year alone-a new record. The President is talking about another round of bank bailouts that could cost as much as four trillion dollars. And when you include interest, the bill before us will cost nearly $1.3 trillion.
"At some point, the taxpayers will have to pay all of this back. And they're worried. Americans can't afford a trillion dollar mistake, however well meaning the intent. And at this point, that's what many of them think this bill would be.
"Republicans are ready to support a stimulus bill. But we will not support an aimless spending spree that masquerades as a stimulus. The economy is in terrible shape. Millions are out of work. This morning's unemployment numbers are a further sign of the severity of this crisis.
"But putting another $1 trillion on the nation's credit card isn't something we should do lightly.
"We need to get a stimulus. But more importantly, we need to get it right."
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