Snowe Supports Economic Stimulus Package to Boost American Economy & Create Jobs
Works as Consensus-Builder to Develop Bipartisan Compromise
February 6, 2009
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), a senior member on the Senate Finance Committee, tonight announced her support for a $780 billion economic stimulus package that will produce new jobs and aid the ailing American economy. A key centrist in Congress, Senator Snowe played a pivotal role in working with the Administration and Senate Leadership to adjust the tax provisions in the economic stimulus legislation to help garner support to achieve the bipartisan compromise announced in the Senate.
"The catalogue of arguments in the Senate have spanned the gamut – from those who believed this bill initially was about the right size and the right balance to those who thought it was far too expensive, providing too little bang for the proverbial buck," Senator Snowe said. "However, through true consensus building, the Senate has rightly been engaged in a vigorous and healthy debate to arrive at this monumental compromise."
Over the past several months Senator Snowe has consistently worked to enact a second stimulus package and has championed several pro-growth policies that aim to lift the struggling economy, spur job growth, and assist those who have been displaced by the worst economic downturn since World War II. She worked with members of the Senate Finance Committee to have several of her key job-igniting initiatives incorporated into the measure including: small business expensing to provide firms more rapid write-offs for making job-creating investments and the tax-free treatment of unemployment insurance benefits to help displaced workers.
"Through the Finance Committee tax-writing process we were able to produce a bill that will assist small business owners and hard-working Americans who are struggling during these trying economic times," Senator Snowe said. "The tax and Medicaid provisions of this legislation, constituting nearly 60 percent of the entire proposal, will provide an immediate jolt to our nation’s economy."
This week, during a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office with President Obama, Senator Snowe discussed the shortcomings of the legislation. The Senator offered the President nearly $100 billion worth of non-stimulative spending that could be stripped from the package. This laid the groundwork to broker a deal that would create bipartisan legislation that is timely, targeted, and temporary.
"Throughout our deliberations this week in the Senate, I have consistently advocated for a package that will truly stimulate this economy, not an omnibus bill bloated with frivolous spending" Senator Snowe continued. "We must be vigilant to ensure this is the right package that will address the urgency of our economic crisis and achieve credibility with the American people."
This week the Senate started to debate a $900 billion economic stimulus package, which through bipartisan negotiations, has been trimmed down to $780 billion. In addition to helping lead negotiations regarding adjustments to the tax portion of the bill, Senator Snowe expects many of her job-creating amendments to be included in the underlying bill, further strengthening the stimulus proposal.
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