In 2009, liberal U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) told Pennsylvanians that he would be supporting Barack Obama’s $825 billion stimulus, because it was a “jobs” bill that would help repair America’s aging roads and bridges – even going so far as to say “[stimulus] funds will help rehabilitate existing infrastructure, replace equipment and create jobs.”
But after the bill passed the House of Representatives, it was revealed that, in fact, only 5 percent of the so-called “stimulus” was spent on infrastructure. A few months later, it was revealed that billions of dollars were given to tax cheats and millions of dollars were spent in fictitious congressional districts like a $1.96 million project in Pennsylvania’s non-existent “96th Congressional District.”
Now that it’s been widely accepted that the first stimulus was a boondoggle that never lived up to Obama and Casey’s promises, the political fundraising duo want a do-over as Democrats in the Senate will be voting on a $50 billion infrastructure stimulus later this week.
As The Hill reports:
President Obama’s proposal to create a national infrastructure bank and spend $50 billion on transportation to stimulate job growth will be up for a vote in the Senate this week. … The president incorporated it into his proposal for a $447 billion jobs act, which the Senate is now voting on in pieces after its rejection as a package.
“Senator Casey and President Obama promised their original $825 billion ‘stimulus’ would focus on infrastructure projects, but rather than explaining what went wrong, Casey wants another $50 billion in government stimulus so he and Obama can have a mulligan,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “With our country’s debt at nearly $15 trillion, Pennsylvania simply cannot afford the job-killing, tax-and-spend experiments of Barack Obama and Bob Casey.”
BACKGROUND
2009: Casey Said The “Stimulus” Would “Help Rehabilitate Existing Infrastructure, Replace Equipment And Create Jobs.” CASEY: “‘These [stimulus] funds will help rehabilitate existing infrastructure, replace equipment and create jobs.’” (Senator Bob Casey, “Specter, Casey Announce Over $142.7 Million Going To Pennsylvania Transportation Projects,” Press Release, 5/20/09)
