Kent Conrad: “I thought I should report on testimony we had before the Budget Committee with respect to stimulus. We had a number of…”

“I thought I should report on testimony we had before the Budget Committee with respect to stimulus. We had a number of economists who appeared who said spending to strengthen security is perhaps the very best thing we could do to stimulate the economy. Not only would the spending itself be stimulative, but, more important, it would improve the security of people in the country. One of the big problems we have is a lack of confidence. People are feeling threatened. People are feeling vulnerable. That inhibits economic activity. We see that in airline travel. People don't feel safe flying. To the extent you can make expenditures that improve the security of airports and improve the security of rail operations and improve the security in ports, that is going to improve the psychological security factor that people feel. That is going to help the economy. They said you actually get a double hit: Not only the expenditures will be stimulative, but the additional security will make people feel safer and be safer. I hope this does not become kind of a political debate, a partisan political debate, but that we deal with the underlying realities. The fact is, we know there are things that have to be done to strengthen our security. We can make that commitment now and get the work underway now. That makes sense instead of delaying.”