The following press release has been received from 8th District Republican candidate for Congress Joe Walsh:

JOE WALSH COMMENTS ON FAILURE OF STIMULUS BILL,

CALLS ON A NEW DIRECTION FOR THE AMERICAN ECONOMY

(Grayslake, IL) – Critics of President Obama’s nearly $1 trillion stimulus program have pointed out that the stimulus has failed to create jobs while wasting taxpayer money. A new analysis of stimulus spending in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District supports that criticism.

According to the Obama Administration’s “Recovery.gov” website, during the past 18 months the stimulus bill has spent more than $226 million in the 8th district to fund 244 projects, while only creating 169.46 jobs.

Joe Walsh, the Republican nominee for the 8th district, commented,

Joe Walsh

“If you do the math, you see that the Administration has spent more than $1.3 million per stimulus job!  While American families and small businesses are struggling and making tough choices, Washington is wasting their money.

“The stimulus has failed. According to the Obama Administration, this bill created fewer than 10 jobs per month in our district – 80% of those were government jobs. Sadly, this stimulus is a bailout for state and local government that was never designed to help the private sector grow the economy and create jobs.”

Joe Walsh’s opponent, Rep. Melissa Bean, voted for the stimulus bill.

Melissa Bean

In a February 13, 2009 press release, Rep. Bean promised the stimulus bill would create jobs, saying:

“This bold action is necessary to preserve and create jobs and spending.”

Bean stated taxpayer money would be spent in the right place, saying the bill “puts money where it matters.” In a January 28, 2009 press release, Bean touted the recovery.gov website, saying it constituted a new measure “of accountability and transparency [to] track every dollar of spending….”

Walsh commented on Bean’s empty promises,

“Melissa Bean promised the stimulus bill would create jobs. It didn’t. She promised our money would be well spent. It wasn’t.

“My campaign represents the voices of millions of Americans who believe we need new leadership in Washington.  With the support of the people of the 8th district, we are going to win this campaign.  When we do, we can begin to enact policies to promote private sector job creation – instead of pumping millions of taxpayer dollars into more government jobs.”