Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wisc.) introduced a bill today that would require unspent and unobligated stimulus funds to be used to reduce the deficit.
“I simply disagree with the governing philosophy that the stimulus represents: that we can grow our economy by growing the size of government,” said Duffy in a statement.
The White House estimates that $7 billion in stimulus funds has not already been spent or budgeted. There is also $161 billion that has been marked for other projects but has not yet been spent.
“Rescinding the remaining stimulus funds and sending it back to the Treasury for deficit reduction would send an important message to the private sector that there has been a fundamental shift in the People’s House from pushing big government policies to pro-growth policies that will empower the private sector to innovate and invest,” Duffy added.
Alex Cortes, who is coordinating a Defund the Stimulus campaign to promote the bill, said that “it’s absolutely clear that the stimulus has failed,” and pointed out that nearly 2.3 million jobs had been lost since the stimulus was passed.
Cortes is also holding out hope for some bipartisan support for the bill, particularly from the House’s Blue Dog Democrats. And he thinks some Democratic senators might be sympathetic. “How does a Claire McCaskill [D., Missouri] vote on this issue?” he says, noting how she’s trying to define herself as a fiscal hawk. “How does [Sherrod] Brown [D., Ohio], who has come out and said the stimulus hasn’t worked as he liked?”
Brown told the Ohio newspaper the Beacon Journal late last month that the stimulus hadn’t succeeded in restoring economic confidence or encouraging Americans to spend more.