Peter Roskam: “We would have liked a stimulus that worked. We would have liked a stimulus where unemployment actually peaked at 8…”

“We would have liked a stimulus that worked. We would have liked a stimulus where unemployment actually peaked at 8 percent as long as our children and grandchildren were being foisted with a $1 trillion obligation. We would have liked it if last month's unemployment numbers weren't goosed up by simply census employees joining the ranks. We would have liked it, Mr. Speaker, if during the health care debate a thoughtful approach had been put forward that wasn't going to cost employers like Caterpillar in my home State $100 million in the first year or John Deere $150 million in the first year. I think what the majority is laying out is kind of a happy life of low expectations. That's not a bad way to go through life, but I think that we can do so much more than this. And to Mr. Camp's point, there are some things that are here that are decent and that are marginally okay and slightly better, but is that how dim the lights are in this Chamber that that's our expectation, that something is just sort of okay? I mean, this is an increase in government spending, after all, so I think we can do so much better.”