Can the stimulus teach us anything about the health care debate?

Can the stimulus teach us anything about the health care debate?

By Rep Robert Aderholt (AL-04)

Sunday, October 4, 2009, Daily Mounatin Eagle

As we all react to another disappointing unemployment report from Friday, I can’t help but wonder if the President and Congress would’ve passed the stimulus if it knew then what we know now.

After all, the administration told us we needed to spend nearly $1 trillion for a stimulus bill that would create jobs “immediately” and keep unemployment below 8% nationally. That has not happened.

What can we learn about February’s big government spending stimulus that can help us as we debate big government health care reform today?

The philosopher, George Santayana, once said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is an important principle for everyone to recognize in just about every aspect of life.

I strongly opposed and voted against the stimulus then and I continue to point out its’ inadequacies today as I consider the proposed health care legislation being pushed by the Democrat majority.

Even though the administration told us the stimulus bill would keep unemployment below 8%, Americans have lost roughly three million jobs and unemployment has continued to rise since the stimulus was passed.

Recently, unemployment has risen from 9.4% in July to 9.7% in August and it was just announced Friday that September's rate was 9.8%!

Our state of Alabama is suffering at a more alarming rate with 10.1% in June, 10.2% in July and 10.4% in August. The August rate matches a high last hit in 1984.

The statistics are staggering! Alabama’s current unemployment rate is double what it was at this time last year. Alabama’s percentage of unemployment increase from last year (100%) is only second to West Virginia (114%) in the entire nation.

The Fourth Congressional District has experienced unemployment rates of over 12% for July and August. A few counties are suffering at a greater rate, including Winston, Marion and Lamar Counties, which are experiencing more than 16% unemployment rates each.

Rather than create jobs or stimulate the economy, this massive spending bill was a laundry list of programs that focused on states with big city urban communities.

An effective stimulus package would have been a bill that gave tax relief for American families and small businesses, without dramatically expanding our nation’s debt.

Instead, the stimulus was a wish list of wasteful spending on many liberal priorities that will do little to immediately put Americans back to work. Additionally, our children will pay the high price for many years to come.

I believe that the this Administration’s push for big government through programs like the February stimulus is a major reason why Americans are so skeptical about a costly government takeover of health care today.

President Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should listen to the American people’s concerns about how the nation is being run.

As the Congressional Democrat leadership remains determined to pass a costly government takeover of health care that raises taxes and places unfair mandates on small businesses, the American people remain determined that they don’t want another big government program that may not deliver. Just look at the stimulus and the promise of jobs.

The Administration told us that the big government stimulus was needed to keep unemployment below 8% nationally. Should we expect a big government health care proposal to deliver in the areas that have been promised by the President, such as no taxpayer health care for undocumented immigrants or the promise that you won’t lose your health care? These are questions that we all should seriously ask ourselves as we debate the Democrat leadership’s health care proposal and the effect of yet another big government program.

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Congressman Robert Aderholt is serving his seventh term as the U.S. Representative of the Fourth Congressional District of Alabama. Rep. Aderholt serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, and a member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee. Rep. Aderholt also serves on the House Budget Committee and the Helsinki Commission.