On the recordJuly 1, 2010
This motion to recommit on H.R. 5618 has a provision to pay for the extended unemployment benefits proposed in the underlying bill. We think it is important to help long-term unemployed people, and we want to do it without adding another $34 billion to the Nation's record $13 trillion debt. We know that the stimulus hasn't worked. In its wake, nearly 3 million private-sector jobs were lost, unemployed soared to 10 percent nationwide, and 48 out of 50 States lost jobs. So this motion to recommit pays for the $34 billion in Federal unemployment costs by cutting that much in unspent stimulus spending. Only a portion of the $1 trillion stimulus has been paid out, $414 billion as of June 18, as reported by the official Recovery Act Web site. That leaves hundreds of billions of dollars unspent and available to offset this bill. I would like to quote from the Statement of Administration Policy last November: 'Fiscal responsibility is central to the medium-term recovery of the economy and the creation of jobs.'
