Sessions: President’s Jobs Bill Rejected Over Substance, Not Politics

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today as voting continued on proceeding to President Obama’s second stimulus bill, with members on both sides of the aisle voting in opposition:

“The president has demanded a jobs bill vote and he got it. The Senate tonight is set to reject his latest tax-and-spend plan that would dig our debt hole nearly $500 billion deeper and increase taxes.

This bill was not rejected for political reasons but for substantive ones. The Senate understood that this Keynesian stimulus did not work before and would not work this time. Our nearly $15 trillion debt is a drag on our economy now, and a short-term infusion of another $500 billion in borrowing—cash that will soon disappear—will ultimately leave us worse off.

We must enact honest, long-term policies that will create a long-term growth trajectory. Policies that grow the economy—not the government. That means, first, the cessation of more spending and borrowing. We should now focus on real solutions that create jobs without creating more debt. These include: more American energy, elimination of unwise regulations, a growth-oriented tax code, and ending unfair trade practices.”

• Print
• Email
• Tweet