If the U.S. Congress is to consider another economic stimulus package to help the nation's ailing economy, it will need to include meaningful measures that help create new jobs, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said Wednesday.
Simpson, campaigning against Boise Democrat Debbie Holmes for a sixth term as Idaho's 2nd Congressional District representative, added that the new economic stimulus plan being considered by congressional Democrats shouldn't include bailouts for states with budget deficits.
"I'm not convinced that's a good idea," he said during an interview with the Idaho Mountain Express on Wednesday.
Simpson thinks it's likely that the U.S. House will reconvene in Washington D.C. after the general elections in November. The economic stimulus plan would be at the top of the priority list for such a session, Simpson said.
Simpson expressed concern with the government's decision to use $250 billion to purchase senior preferred shares in U.S. banks and asked Bernanke to clarify how the program is in the taxpayer's best interest.
The large cash infusion is part of the $700 billion bailout package approved by Congress.
Simpson said he wants to make sure the Federal Reserve ensures that banks use the $250 billion to make new loans and thaw the credit market instead of simply padding their own books or using the money to buy out smaller financial institutions. He said for that amount of money, the U.S. should be able to influence how the funds are used.
"For $250 million, I may want to have a say," he said.
Simpson briefly discussed the prospects for his 318,765-acre wilderness bill for Idaho's Boulder and White Cloud mountains. Called the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act (CIEDRA), it still stands a chance of being included in a combination public lands bill the House may consider in November, he said.
The U.S. Senate is considering a similar piece of public lands legislation that includes an Owyhee Canyonlands wilderness bill for southwest Idaho, but for the time being, not CIEDRA.
Simpson thinks that changes he made to CIEDRA earlier this year at the request of Democrats will in the end help the legislation pass, whether it's this year or in the next session of Congress.
"I think we're pretty much at a stage where we've done all we can," he said.
Much like Simpson, the Democratic candidate for Idaho's 2nd Congressional District believes any new economic stimulus package Congress considers must include meaningful measures to create good-paying jobs, not just throw money at the problem.
"What we need to do is stimulate jobs," Holmes said. "We need infrastructure. We need jobs. We need people not to lose their homes."
