The following press release was received from 16th District Congressman Don Manzullo before the Democrats’ Stimulus package–on which no House Republican voted in favor–passed;

(WASHINGTON) Congressman Don Manzullo (R-Egan) today said the $792 billion House-Senate compromise on the stimulus bill “made a bad bill worse” by cutting the few job-creating tax incentives in the bill while continuing to fund questionable spending programs that will saddle future generations with massive debt without stimulating our economy or creating jobs.

With interest, the bill will cost the average American family $9,418 in new spending and debt.

Manzullo supported alternative legislation that would have created 6.2 million more jobs at half the cost, given American families up to $3,400 in added tax relief they could re-invest in the economy, reduced taxes on job-creating small employers by 20 percent, and provided significant tax incentives to bolster the sales of homes and automobiles.

He will vote against the Democrat leadership bill this afternoon. The bill, which was negotiated behind closed doors without any input from House or Senate Republican leaders, was not made public until late last night.

Despite being promoted as a job-creating infrastructure bill, the legislation includes just 4 percent for roads, and the Illinois Dept. of Transportation plans to use our allotment primarily to resurface and patch existing roads.

And after the first two years, the bill would actually reduce the wages of Americans because of the temporary nature of the funding, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Instead of reducing the rampant non-stimulus spending in the bill, House-Senate negotiators:

• Cut $28 billion in direct tax relief for Americans. To pay for the added spending, negotiators reduced the $1,000 tax cut for couples to $800.
• Cut $35.5 billion in tax incentives to boost the housing industry and encourage Americans to buy homes. The Senate bill included a provision to give Americans a $15,000 tax credit to purchase a new home, but negotiators reduced the credit to $8,000, only allowed it for first-time homeowners, and limited the relief to purchases made by this August.
• Cut $8.5 billion in tax incentives to boost auto sales and put Americans back to work. The Senate bill included a provision to allow Americans to deduct from their income taxes both the sales tax from a new car purchase and the interest on the auto loan. Negotiators eliminated the loan interest write-off – the bulk of the incentive – and instead allowed the sales tax deduction to remain. What was a $1,500 tax benefit was slashed to about a $300 benefit, not really enough to encourage someone to buy a new vehicle.

“The original bill was chocked full of spending that would neither create jobs nor stimulate our economy, and very little was focused on job-creating infrastructure improvements and putting money back in people’s pockets so they could re-invest it in the economy.

“Amazingly, this compromise bill actually removed the little job-creating spending that was in the legislation and made this bad bill worse,” Manzullo said.

“Americans need their jobs back so they can afford to support their families and make their mortgage payments or rent.

“And that will only happen when Americans start buying cars again, start purchasing homes again, and start spending again.

“We need to provide incentives to encourage purchases and to lower the cost of doing business in the United States, and the compromise bill actually goes in the wrong direction.

“The massive amount of non-stimulus spending in the bill – which goes directly to the national debt — should be debated during the regular budget process, not included in the stimulus bill.”

Some of the questionable stimulus spending in the compromise bill includes:

• $2 billion for the Neighborhood Stabilization Fund, providing funds to organizations such as ACORN, which has been accused of practicing unlawful voter registration in recent elections.
• $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• $170 million to research climate change.
• $400 million for NASA to accelerate climate research missions.
• $1 billion for a post analysis of the 2010 census.
• $650 million for Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupons. No converter boxes are made in the United States.
• $1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund, which can be used for sexually transmitted disease (STD) education and prevention programs at the CDC.
• $400 million to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a permanent board to ration health care services, a precursor to universal health care.
• $15.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant (for college expenses) from $4,731 to $5,231. This huge expenditure will not send more students to college or hire any more teachers; it will merely give those already receiving the grants an extra $500 a year.
• $13 billion to improve reading programs. We can debate this added spending during the regular budget process, but it is not an immediate job-creating stimulus.
• $2 billion for additional child care subsidies.