U.S. Rep Bill Cassidy says he would vote for an $800 billion stimulus package if its spending measures were “timely, targeted and temporary.” Cassidy is one of 28 Republicans targeted by Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee radio ads; he’s accused of voting “against economic recovery” and job creation. Cassidy argues the $820 billion bill that passed the House without a Republican vote is “two bills tied into one.” It includes a job-creation bill with tax cuts and infrastructure projects that would work, along with needed increases in Medicaid, and a spending bill that is unrelated to stimulating the faltering economy. “This bill has $2,700 per man, woman and child living in my district, in terms of national debt,” he says.
“Is (Cassidy) so opposed to this in principle that he doesn’t think Louisiana should get between $3 billion and $6 billion in infrastructure projects and projects for schools?” asks Scott Jordan, spokesman for the Louisiana Democratic Party. No bill that large will ever be perfect, and President Barack Obama has pushed to take out some of the items Republicans objected to, Jordan says. Read the full version of this story here.—David Jacobs
