Governor Carcieri Sends Stimulus Letter to President

02-05-2009

Governor Carcieri sent a letter to President Barack Obama respectfully requesting revisions to the current stimulus package to provide immediate job growth and improve consumer confidence.

In his letter to President Obama, which was copied to Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the Rhode Island congressional delegation, Carcieri respectfully called the stimulus plan passed by the House as “deeply flawed,” citing that it is laden with “enormous amounts of spending that have little to do with economic stimulus” and that it “will not produce immediate job growth.”

Carcieri urged Obama to support a proposal that would: 1. Provide relief for those families that have been affected by unemployment. 2. Provide assistance to state government budgets, to avoid tax increase at the local level. 3. Provide massive tax reductions across the board by lowering tax withholding rates and putting more disposable income in weekly family paychecks. 4. Provide financing for highway and bridge upgrades. 5. Stabilize the banking and credit system with low interest rates, and absorption of the toxic assets.

The Governor went on to write that “these steps will restore confidence on the part of all Americans, and hopefully, stop the slide in home prices. Both of these will lead to the resumption of more normal spending behavior by our citizens, once again providing customers for business. This will be the real engine for job growth.”

Governor Carcieri recognized the importance of the proposed 70 percent of earmarked for fiscal stabilization, Medicaid and infrastructure,, but urged the President to re-direct the remaining 30 percent of the stimulus package earmarked for “other spending” to lower individual tax withholdings.

The Governor concluded that he “wholeheartedly” agrees with the President that there is a “profound sense of urgency” for Congress to enact a stimulus plan, noting, however, that the House version contains “ill-advised” spending provisions.