Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) Delivers Weekly Republican Address On Economy

February 21, 2009 - WASHINGTON, DC - Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI), the Ranking Republican on the House Ways & Means Committee, today delivered the Republican Weekly Radio Address.

Following is the text of Rep. Camps address:

Hello, I am Congressman Dave Camp from Michigan, and I serve as the lead Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

American families and small businesses are hurting, and Republicans know that we must act to help get our economy back on track, but we also know that we cant borrow and spend our way back to prosperity.

Last week, Democratic leaders in Congress railroaded through a $1.1 trillion spending bill. As soon as next week, they may bring up a bill that spends another half trillion dollars. And that is on top of the $700 billion in TARP money and perhaps untold billions more we are spending to help banks and homeowners.

Congressional Democratic Leaders track record on spending taxpayers money wisely this year is already lousy. House Republicans offered a plan to help our economy using fast-acting tax relief that would have created 6.2 million jobs twice the jobs at half the cost of the Democrats trillion-dollar government spending bill. Instead, the Democrats bill included money for electric golf carts, billions that could go to scandal-plagued groups like ACORN, and millions more just to renovate government office buildings. Despite promises of openness and transparency, it was written in a backroom and rushed through Congress so quickly that few if any Members even read it.

Next week, we have a chance to hit reset and try again to work in a transparent and bipartisan way to address our nations problems. On Monday, Members of Congress from both parties will join President Obama at the White House for a Fiscal Responsibility Summit.

Republicans and Democrats agree that the American people deserve a secure retirement, including affordable health care they can count on. But we all know that vital programs like Medicare and Social Security face serious financial challenges as Baby Boomers get older, people live longer lives and families have fewer children.

Republicans genuinely want to work with the President to solve these problems in a responsible way that does not burden our children and grandchildren with a mountain of debt. The summit next week is an important step, as is the budget outline that the President will release at the end of the week. If he is serious about dealing with the tough issues and getting spending under control, his budget will show it.

If we do not act, we doom the next generation to fewer and worse government services, drastic tax increases, and unprecedented debt. We must not leave that legacy to our children and our grandchildren.

Thank you for listening.

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[BostonRocker51]

While I have some respect for his office, Mr. Camp is an insult to thinking Americans. He says the health insurance reform bills are a Democratic attempt to take over health care. THIS is from a man who benefits from socialized medicine as a Rep in Congress!! What a stinking hypocrite.

Shame on you Mr. Camp.

We pay more and insure fewer than ALL our industrial peers. Please research the Spanish and Canadian systems. We got our Medicare system from Canada!!!

[301Goldstar]

You are the idiot. Obama is the worst president in the world now he is taking away our freedom. So you just got to quit blaming Bush. Obama put us in the most debt in first 9 month then any president in history.

[badbassjd]

This is from the butthole poopwads who trashed our economy, turned a healthy surplus into a massive deficit, DOUBLED THE NATIONAL DEBT, allowed our country to be attacked and let the perpetrator escape, &  started 2 disastrous wars (not counting the disastrous "war on drugs"), all between 2000 and 2008. (The economy started to collapse in 2007-remember?) Now they're trying to blame Obama. Good luck, you idiots.