Ways and Means Republicans declare stimulus a ‘huge failure’

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) on Wednesday released a report officially declaring the 2009 Obama stimulus package a “huge failure.”

The report repeats familiar GOP arguments that the stimulus failed to keep unemployment low while increasing the deficit. It notes that the White House predicted that the stimulus would “save or create” 3 million jobs by the end of 2010 and keep unemployment below 8 percent.

The report states that by increasing spending to unsustainable levels, the Democrats actually cost the economy as many as 1 million jobs. Camp has said that economists estimate that a 1 percent increase in gross domestic product creates 1 million jobs, but that the large debt has lowered GDP by 1 percent. 

“The staggering 70 percent combined rise in debt and unemployment during President Obama’s term has created an enormous ‘Obama Misery Index,’ ” the report states. 

Camp’s report notes that the unemployment rate remains above 9 percent, and that if Americans who have given up looking for work are included in the statistics, the unemployment rate would be 11.3 percent.

The White House and congressional Democrats have repeatedly said the economy would be in far worse shape without the stimulus. 

Liz Oxhorn, White House spokesperson for the Recovery Act said Wednesday that “economists across the spectrum, including the non-partisan CBO, say the Recovery Act delivered as promised, creating or saving as many as 3.6 million jobs and lowering the unemployment rate by about 1 to 2 percent.  We agree with the experts that the Recovery Act rescued the economy in a time of crisis.”

“Economists are clear in their agreement that the stimulus pulled our economy back from the brink of depression. It is disappointing that Republicans are using the plight of economically distressed American families to try and score political points rather than focusing on steps that can accelerate the 12 straight months of private sector job growth under President Obama,” Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said.

Every House Republican voted against the stimulus package when it was approved in 2009. Only three Senate Republicans supported it, with one of the three later switching parties. 

The GOP argued against the stimulus, which has remained unpopular with the public, during a 2010 campaign that centered on economic issues and the new healthcare law. Republicans won a majority in the House, and have vowed to cancel unspent stimulus funds.

“In the 112th Congress, House Republicans will pursue an agenda that creates the climate of certainty necessary to usher in a new era of private sector job creation,” Camp said in a statement accompanying the report. 

The report says Republicans will tackle unemployment by streamlining the tax code, passing pending free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama, repealing the healthcare law and controlling spending. 

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in an opinion piece for Wednesday’s print edition of The Hill outlined a “cut and grow” strategy of less regulation, lower taxes and less uncertainty about taxes as a result of lower debt.