(REMARKS AS PREPARED)

Mr. Chairman, while it is clear we must act, we must ensure the action we take actually stimulates the economy and lays the foundation for real, sustained job creation in the private sector.  Much of the negotiations and deals I have heard and read about, which took place behind closed doors and before this conference even convened, seem to result in this legislation having less of a benefit for American families now, when they need it the most. 

Frankly, because this process has been so rushed, we are literally flying blind.  CBO has told us that both the House and Senate passed versions would cost Americans their jobs and be a negative drag on our economy over the next 10 years.  Let me be clear: CBO says the burden created by the additional debt payments and government crowd out of the private market contained in this stimulus bill will cost Americans their jobs in 2019. 

While we know the negative impact in 2019, we have no data on the impact – positive or negative – the “stimulus” package will have on our economy just three years from now. Before we jump into this trillion dollar plane we know crashes in 2019, we should know if it will crash sooner.

I believe this conference, the Members of the House and Senate and the American people deserve to know the full impact of this legislation before we vote on it.  To that end, I sincerely hope the House will honor the vote we took yesterday giving Members -- and all Americans -- 48 hours to digest the conference report and the deal you have struck. 

Let me reiterate that I and every Republican in the House stand ready to act.  As you well know, we produced an alternative to both the Senate and House versions that would create twice the jobs at half the cost based on the data and methodology of the Chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors.

As we move forward with this conference, it is my sincere wish that we do so publicly and that we work in a bipartisan fashion to retain those provisions that will have an immediate and positive impact on our economy and ability to create and save jobs in this country.  To that end, I have 10 questions I think need to be answered:

1) There are several reports in press and even pronouncements by the Senate Majority Leader and other Senators that indicate there is a deal on stimulus.  Can we see a copy? 

2) How were some of the important differences between the House and Senate resolved with regard to:

• The Homebuyer Tax Credit
• COBRA subsidies
• Comparativeness Effectiveness Research
• Buy America
• AMT patch
• NOL carryback
• 3% government contract witholding

3) The President on Monday in Elkhart, IN, said that tax cuts for working families are the most effective stimulus, but press reports indicate the deal cuts billions from the Making Work Pay Credit.  Why?

4) Yesterday, the House unanimously passed a motion to instruct conferees that the bill text be made publically available on the internet for 48 hours before a vote.  Will you commit to ensuring this is adhered to by declining to sign a conference report until the 48 hours have elapsed?

5) President Obama asked for a package that contained 40% in tax cuts.  What percent of the spending in this bill takes the form of tax cuts? How much of those “tax cuts” are really outlays – transfers to people who pay no taxes whatsoever, either payroll or income taxes?

6) Similarly, if this agreement passes, how many individuals will receive transfers in excess of all taxes paid, including income and payroll taxes?

7) How much of the cost of this bill is spending in 2009 and 2010, when our economy and American families really need it?

8) Larry Summers, the President’s Director of National Economic Council, has argued that the stimulus should be “timely, temporary, and targeted.”  Does this bill contain any permanent increases in spending in this bill or any other permanent provisions that do not comport with the “temporary” standard?

9) As I mentioned above, both the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation have estimated that the stimulus bills passed by the House and Senate will, at some point in the coming decade act as a drag on economic growth and employment compared to the baseline estimate of no stimulus at all.  Just so everyone understands what this means: according to CBO and JCT in 10 years the economy will be worse off with fewer jobs, less investment, and more unemployment by passing this bill than if we do absolutely nothing.  Do we have year-to-year data from CBO and JCT to know whether the year-by-year impact on our economy and if any long- and mid-term drain on the economy is worth the short-term gain?

10) Mr. Chairman, the Colombia free trade agreement would provide a huge economic boost for American exporters, like Caterpillar, who the President is visiting tomorrow, and require absolutely no new government spending. Why isn’t the FTA in this bill?