PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES NEW PLAN TO SPEND MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS WHILE TENNESSEANS FACE 10.5 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT

In a speech at the Brookings Institution yesterday, President Barack Obama again claimed the Democrats’ trillion-dollar stimulus legislation has “created jobs and spurred growth.” While the President continues patting himself on the back, Tennesseans are facing 10.5 percent unemployment and wondering – where are the jobs?

Since the stimulus clearly isn’t working, wouldn’t it make sense to stop throwing money at this problem and work to pay down our nation’s record $1.4 trillion-dollar deficit? No, according to the Obama Administration. In a stunning move, President Obama has proposed taking billions – more than $100 billion by some media reports – in unused funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) – money that by law should be used for deficit reduction – for a second stimulus plan. Senators Corker and Alexander were quick to speak out against the President’s new plan:

Senator Bob Corker: “Congress authorized TARP last fall to prevent a cataclysmic financial crisis, and it’s now past time for a responsible exit strategy from the program. Suggesting that it may be appropriate to offset the costs of a brand new stimulus bill with TARP funds is beyond irresponsible.”

Senator Lamar Alexander: “The first thing to do is to defeat this health care bill and the new costs it imposes on those who create jobs in our country. The second thing we could do is follow the law and take the money banks are paying back to the government and use it to pay down the national debt instead of spending it.”

Spend, spend, spend – that’s the only plan Washington Democrats can come up with to fix our ailing economy. And if the spending doesn’t work – spend some more. Tennesseans want to see the spending stop and the job creation start. Families across the Volunteer State are doing everything they can to live within their means during these tough economic times, and the federal government should be doing the same.