Recently, I have seen and heard criticism leveled at members of Congress — myself included — who opposed the stimulus bill but did not stand in the way of their communities asking for and receiving stimulus funding from state and federal sources.
I believe that the primary goal of these critics is to muddy the waters and shift the blame for this nearly trillion-dollar boondoggle from those who voted for it to those who voted against it.
On the surface, I understand why some constituents might be concerned or confused by the fact that a member would vote against the stimulus bill but not stop their communities from seeking the funds. Despite the fact that I voted against the stimulus bill, the Congress passed the bill with the president signing it into law.
Regrettably, my vote against the stimulus did not exempt Georgia’s constituents from having to pay the taxes to fund the stimulus bill. Georgians, their children and grandchildren will have to pay the debt racked up by the stimulus bill, and therefore, they have just as much right to seek a return of their tax dollars as any other district in the country.
Some may think that if a district does not ask for money, this would inadvertently reduce the federal deficit.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. The allotment for the stimulus bill was pre-decided, so regardless of whether or not Georgia received funds, the money would have still been spent elsewhere.
It is probably not a surprise as to where the majority of stimulus funds were distributed. According to the White House’s own Web site, recovery.gov, almost 70 percent of all stimulus dollars went to states that supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 election.
Therefore, if Georgia did not use the amount of money set aside for purposeful projects — such as construction of new infrastructure — tax dollars could have been used for wasteful spending on things like needle exchange programs in New York City or rainforest funding in Iowa.
I want to reiterate that I opposed the stimulus bill and would vote against it again if given the opportunity. Simply put, this was a poor choice for public policy.
Instead, I supported tax relief that would have put money back into the hands of small businesses and middle-class families through across-the-board spending cuts.
Unfortunately, the $862 billion in the stimulus is symptomatic of a larger spending problem in Washington.
While hard-working Americans are forced to make difficult decisions when it comes to their own budgets, the federal government is setting a bad example by increasing the frequency of these reckless spending sprees.
Although the stimulus was supposed to serve as a one-time spending increase, President Obama has already included a number of stimulus provisions in his budget for fiscal year 2011.
This means that our children and grandchildren will bear the burden of this immeasurable debt — a responsibility no one should have to inherit.
U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) represents the Eleventh District.
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