Stimulus

Republicans know that in this difficult economic time, Americans are hurting. Republicans believed that Congress needed to spur the economy and promote job growth, which is why Republicans proposed an alternative to the Democrats' massive, big government "stimulus" bill. The Republican plan would have created 6.2 million jobs over the next two years: twice the forecast jobs, at half the cost of the Democrats' bill, over the next two years. In reality, though, 2.2 million jobs have been lost in America since the "stimulus" was signed on February 17, 2009.

Immediate Tax Relief and Assistance for Working Families:
The Republican stimulus plan would have jump-started the economy by putting income back in the hands of hard working American families.  The plan lowers the bottom two income tax brackets from 10% to 5% and from 15% to 10%.  This will reduce the income taxes of every American who pays income taxes and will provide a maximum family benefit of almost $3,400 each year.  The plan also offers financial assistance to many of the unemployed who would not qualify for the COBRA premium subsidy, like those who worked for employers with fewer than 20 employees or who are ineligible for COBRA because their former employer went bankrupt.  

Help for America's Small Businesses and Employers:
The Republican plan creates a new 20% deduction for small business income.  This provision would lower the tax burden on companies with 500 or fewer employees (99.9 percent of the 27.2 million businesses in America), a group of businesses that employ about half of all private-sector employees and that create nearly 80% of the new jobs in the United States.

The Republican plan extends the favorable bonus depreciation rules contained in the 2008 stimulus package, providing businesses, both large and small, enhanced incentives to make critical investments.  In addition, the Republicans' plan expands the carry-back of Net Operating Losses (NOLs)  and permits businesses to carry back their NOL deductions for five years, rather than two.  This would provide many previously profitable companies the opportunity to seek immediate refunds of past taxes paid, giving them cash infusions that would help them weather the current economic storm.

Improved Homebuyer Credit:
The Republican plan extends the $7,500 homebuyer tax credit through December 31, 2009, while expanding the benefit to all primary residences, requiring a 5% down payment, and eliminating the complicated "recapture" rules that currently require homebuyers to pay the government back if they claim this credit.  This provision would help stimulate the faltering housing market and encourage responsible homeownership.

Unemployment Assistance:
The Republican plan would extend federal unemployment benefits through December 2009.  The plan would have exempted unemployment benefits from Federal income tax during 2008 and 2009, ensuring that Americans who have lost their jobs do not see the value of their benefits being unfairly taxed away during these difficult times.

In February, Democrats promised the American people that by borrowing another $1 trillion to pay for their American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the "stimulus" bill), national unemployment would peak below 8 percent and the economy would receive an immediate jolt.  In reality, the "stimulus" bill has not worked as advertised and instead has led to more of the same from Democrats: record borrowing and government spending.
 
Deficits:
Through the first ten months of fiscal year 2009 the federal deficit is $1.3 trillion.  CBO predicts that the FY 2009 deficit will reach a record $1.6 trillion, which is 3.5 times more than FY 2008's record deficit of $458 billion.

Debt:
The total national debt is $11.6 trillion.  Debt held by the public, which excludes intergovernmental debt and debt held in the Social Security Trust fund, is $7.3 trillion.  The Office of Management and Budget predicts that the national debt will rapidly rise to $23.3 trillion by FY 2019 under the President's budget.  Treasury Secretary Geithner sent a letter on August 7, 2009, asking Congress to raise the debt limit above $12.1 trillion. 

Jobs and Unemployment:
The unemployment rate in August was 9.7 percent, up from 7.6 percent in January when the President took office and is the highest level of unemployment in 26 years.  14.4 million job-seeking Americans are without jobs.  Since the Democrat "stimulus" was signed into law in February, two million Americans have lost their jobs.

Income:
Personal income in the month of June was down $133.1 billion from the month before the "stimulus" was passed.

"Stimulus":
To date, the White House reports that $80.9 billion of the $787 billion "stimulus" bill has been paid out.  Of that spending, $26.8 billion has been spent on Medicaid grants to States, $13 billion for State education funding and student aid, $15 billion for unemployment insurance, $13 billion for one-time Social Security payments, and $3 billion for food stamps.  Only $1.7 billion or 0.2 percent has been paid out for transportation infrastructure projects.

Government Spending:
In FY 2009, the government will spend an estimated $3.65 trillion, surpassing last year's record for federal spending by $670 billion.  Over the last year, Democrats have increased discretionary spending (including the "stimulus") by 25 percent and non-defense discretionary spending by 57 percent.