Marathon Pundit: Three year anniversary of the failed stimulus; Roskam, Hultgren statements

Three years ago today the $862 stimulus law was signed by President Obama. The economy is at best flat. The most enduring legacy of Obama's economic policy is the massive federal deficit.

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), the House Chief Deputy Whip, issued a statement in regards to this sad anniversary:

Three years ago President Obama promised Americans 3.5 million jobs and unemployment under 8% if they just supported his nearly trillion dollar 'stimulus' plan. In the time since, Americans have endured crushing job losses, 36 straight months of unemployment above 8%, and trillions more in debt. And yet, astonishingly, the White House still refuses to pivot from trying to borrow, tax, and spend our way into prosperity. Americans have fundamentally rejected this debt-end approach.

With unemployment still above 8% in February 2012, it’s time the White House embraced pro-growth private sector solutions that will remove barriers to job creation and jump-start our economy. Businesses large and small need certainty and predictability to grow. That’s why our economy needs fundamental tax reform – as opposed to the constant threat of tax hikes, commonsense regulations that stop Washington bureaucrats from unilaterally devastating sectors of our economy, an energy policy that reduces American’s energy bills and our dependence on foreign energy, and a smart healthcare policy that actually reduces health costs.

The stimulus is exhibit A where the president's policies have failed. It's time for a better approach.

Rep. Randy Hultgren, another Illinois Republican, also commented on this failed liberal initiative.

When President Obama signed his trillion dollar so-called 'stimulus' into law three years ago, he promised the American people that unemployment would never rise above 8 percent. Yet now, unemployment has been mired above that level for 36 straight months – three years – and the crushing burden of debt on future generations is trillions of dollars greater than it was then. Unfortunately, the president remains committed to his obviously failed policies of reckless spending, higher taxes, and endless borrowing.

It didn't have to be like this. The House of Representatives has passed, with bipartisan support, almost thirty commonsense pro-growth bills to encourage private sector job creation. These bills would promote domestic energy production; ease small businesses' access to capital; reduce the regulatory burdens on businesses and manufacturers; and get the economy moving again, creating private-sector jobs for the millions of Americans looking for work. I hope the President will finally call on the Senate to pass these commonsense bills, and help us return America to prosperity.