Jim Bunning: “The first amendment is to use unspent stimulus funds and the second is by shutting down unnecessary or duplicate Federal…”

“The first amendment is to use unspent stimulus funds and the second is by shutting down unnecessary or duplicate Federal programs. In other words, I am saying we should use money we have already set aside that has not been spent or eliminate wasteful spending to pay for the benefits that are in this current bill. Over the last few days, many Senators on the other side of the aisle have come to the floor and said unemployment benefits are the best form of stimulus available. They say the families who are getting those benefits turn around and spend the money immediately. Well, if that is true, I cannot think of a better use of the money from last year's so-called stimulus bill. Why leave that money sitting around unused in a government account somewhere when those funds could get into the hands of people who need them the most and will put them into the economy right away? What is so sacred about the stimulus bill that we should keep that money sitting around until it can be spent later this year or next year or even in 2012 and beyond? Why not help the people now? But for the Senators who think the stimulus money is so sacred that it cannot be touched, I am proposing another way to pay for this bill. Senator Coburn, my colleague from Oklahoma, has identified well more than $120 billion worth of savings from waste, fraud, and abuse.”