McCaul Opposes Stimulus Plan, Many Katy Residents Agree

John Pape / Instant News Katy

Katy-area congressman Michael McCaul (R-Austin) continued his opposition to the Obama administration’s $787 billion economic stimulus bill, casting a "no" vote during Friday afternoon’s House passage of the measure.

The measure passed the House by a 246-183 margin. No Republicans voted in favor of the bill.

McCaul dubbed the legislation a "spending bill," noting the final price tag will surpass $1 trillion with interest. He also said he opposed it because it was filled with billions of dollars of wasteful spending.

"We cannot spend our way out of debt," McCaul said. "Yet, thanks to the Democrats, we are now going to spend the equivalent of a million dollars a day for the next 3,000 years on a long wish list of items that won’t create jobs."

McCaul added he did support some provisions of the bill, such as tax relief, but only 17 percent of the legislation provided tax relief and less than 10 percent would go to new roads and bridges.

"The rest is pork. There’s simply not enough stimulus in this bill to give the economy the immediate jolt it needs," McCaul said.

McCaul also noted the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects that long-term, the package will do more harm than good. The CBO said that over 10 years extra debt will "crowd out" private investment, leading to a lower gross domestic product, which would hurt workers’ wages.

Beyond wasteful spending, such as $300 million on golf carts and $30 million to protect an endangered mouse in San Francisco, McCaul noted the bill sought to make changes to long-standing healthcare and social policy. One measure takes limits off of welfare spending that President Bill Clinton imposed 12 years ago.

University of Texas professor and former assistant Health and Human Services secretary Benjamin Sasse wrote in the Wall Street Journal this week that a provision in the bill would essentially remove the five-year limit on federal benefits and jeopardize the requirement that recipients begin working after two years of government support.

Katy area residents seemed to generally share McCaul’s view of the stimulus plan. Darrell Maholak, shopping at the Bass Pro Shop at Katy Mills Mall, called it "fat-cats taking care of other fat-cats."

"The big-shot bankers who make millions a year in salaries to make bad decisions get bailed out and still live like kings. We little people work our butts off to get ahead and just keep getting taxed to death," Maholak said. "Where’s my bailout?"

Cynthia Ellis, a Cinco Ranch resident, said both parties were basically guilty of the same thing.

"I was against the idea of a bailout when Bush did it; I’m against it now with Obama," she said. "Everybody is saying the Bush bailout bill did nothing to help the economy. Why do we think doing it a second time would make any difference?"

Ray Martinez of Katy said he was particularly offended by the pork contained in the new bill.

"Obama stood right there in front of the cameras and said there’d be no pork spending – no earmarks – in an Obama administration, and the first big bill is filled with more pork than a sausage factory. Thirty million to protect a mouse? Give me a break," Martinez said. "Obama’s whole thing was about change; there’s no change when it comes to pork spending and lying about it; politicians have been doing that for years."

Ellie Schwartz said she was proud of McCaul for standing up against the bill.

"He votes his principles and I appreciate that. What really makes me mad are the liars like Obama and that those three so-called Republicans (senators) who voted in favor of this mess," Schwartz said. "It’s gotten to where it’s rare to find a politician that has any principles and moral courage anymore."

Although she wouldn’t say she supported Obama’s stimulus plan, Cinco Resident Rozelle Meadows said she was taking a wait-and-see attitude if Obama’s approach would work. That, she said, was the least the nation owed its new president.

"I think we need to give (Obama) a chance. It will take time to bring us out of this recession and we can’t expect everything to work the first time we try it," Meadows said. "This is what President Obama said it would take and we need to give him our support to try it. We’ll see if it works."