Richard Shelby: “during the last 18 months, our economy has been crippled by an unprecedented financial crisis. What began simply as…”

“during the last 18 months, our economy has been crippled by an unprecedented financial crisis. What began simply as rising defaults on subprime mortgages has rapidly evolved into the greatest economic storm since the Great Depression. Shackled by mounting losses on mortgage-backed securities and falling home prices, our banking system has retracted from normal lending. Starved of financing, our economy is rapidly deteriorating, while millions of Americans face unemployment. Unfortunately, we have watched two succeeding administrations--the Bush administration and now, I fear, the Obama administration--propose plans to revitalize our economy that have failed to live up to expectations. We are now told that the solution to the current crisis lies in this stimulus bill before the Senate. Proponents claim that this bill will jump-start the economy and reinvigorate private commercial activity. I disagree. This bill has been poorly conceived and hastily crafted. First, the immediate impact of this bill is far too small. According to the Congressional Budget Office, only 12 percent of the discretionary spending in this bill takes place in the year 2009. Secondly, this bill is not targeted to maximize its impact. It simply funds, I believe, a wish list of government programs rather than focusing on creating jobs and bolstering the incomes of all Americans.”