The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Must Be Stopped

Wow.  Just wow.  There are so many factoids out there about this bill, its just staggering.  How many ways, how many statistics does everyone have to see before it hits home what an exceedingly bad idea this bill- the biggest spending bill in history- really is.

The bill is 1,588 pages- that's more than three full reams of paper!  And Obama does not want to give people time to read the bill.  "The time for talk is over.  The time for action is now.", he says.  Why?  Because the Senate has been debating the bill for FOUR WHOLE DAYS.  And in yet another show of Obama's 'bipartisanship' and efforts to 'reach across the aisle', he refers to Republicans who want to carefully review this whopper spending bill as 'obstructionists'.  Way to extend the hand of friendship there, chief.

Okay, some interesting factoids here:

If you spent $1,000,000.00 a day, each and every day, since the birth of Jesus, you would still have 70 years to go to equal the amount of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

If you stacked enough $1,000.00 bills to equal the amount of the spending bill, the stack would be over 67 miles high.

Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the war in Iraq has cost us around $631,569,000.00 over the last six years.  With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Obama will have spent 25% more 

in his first month in office than Bush spent in the 5+ years since the beginning of the Iraq war.

If you divide the amount of the bill by the number of jobs its estimated to create, they 

are spending $150,000.00 for each job created.

Some of the line items ('pork') in the bill:

25 million to create ATV trails
650 million to buy cars for federal employees
75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI
248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Securities headquarters
400 million to the CDC to prevent STD’s
412 million for CDC property and buildings
820 Million to prevent pandemic influenza
6 billion for Special Education
???? National Institute of Health 
1 billion for the 2010 census

246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers
Giving $100 a month to people who lost their jobs in this recession
34 million to the commerce department
Only 21 Billion dollars goes to small business. That’s only 3% of the bill..
125 million for the DC sewer system
16 billion dollars to repair schools – the local city system should take care of that… not federal government
5.5 million for transportation
2.25 million neighbor stimulation program
5 million to upgrade local firestations – the federal government shouldn’t be involved in that
9 billion in telecommunication
Rebuilding and developing Golf courses, Dog parks, Parking garages, Museums, Skateboard park, etc.
8.4 million for polar bear exhibits
100,000 to create a lung cop guard in sulfur creek
500,000 sunset view dog park
Several million for Golf courses, some in Treport LA, MN, MA, St. Louis, MO, Nebraska, Kuai,  HI
27 million dollar Sanitation truck wash in Bridgeport, CT..

This bill passed the House 244-188, without a single Republican vote in favor. As a matter of 

fact, in the only real show of bipartisanship shown throughout this whole order was the 11 

Democrats that broke ranks and voted with the Republicans and voted against the bill.

The more time this bill sits in Congress, the more We, The People are finding out about it, the more we are not liking what we are hearing.

Have some time on your hands?  Maybe a wicked case of insomnia?  You can read the bill in all its legalese glory here: http://readthestimulus.org/hr1_text.pdf

There's still time- email and call the Republican Senators who may waver and give the Senate the to votes it needs to pass this unconscionable piece of legislation.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)

Phone: Collins (202) 224-2523
Fax: Fax: (202) 224-2693
Website
413 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Phone: (202) 224-5344
Toll Free: (800) 432-1599
Fax: (202) 224-1946
Website
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: 202-228-1229
Website
711 Hart Building
Washington , DC 20510