Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

“The issues like food stamps, and unemployment insurance, which affect so many people in the states and are necessary at this time when funds are short, but the economy is down, actually have the most stimulative affect on the economy,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a conference call with Governors Ed Rendell (D-PA) and Jim Douglas (R-VT). The house will begin debating the 825 billion dollar economic recovery bill today, 2/3 of which will go towards job recovery while the rest is proposed to be used for tax cuts. Speaker Pelosi said that, “Tax cuts where we have them, to the middle class, we think will give us our biggest return.”

The aim of the new bill is to help the states as quickly as possible. “The best news for the local and county governments, because of what Speaker Pelosi and the President are doing, assuming it gets passed, is that the county governments and the city governments will be in much better shape in terms of the money that they get from the state,” said Governor Rendell.

“Does it create jobs, does it turn the economy around, does it lead to long term stabilization of the economy, does it do so in an apparent way and with great accountability to the American people,” said Speaker Pelosi. This bill is the first legislative step towards turning the economy around, and if it is not passed by the President’s day recess, Pelosi said that there will be no recess.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service