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Press Release Published: Sep 8, 2011

Will President Obama’s “Son of Stimulus” Produce Same Results as Its Predecessor?

Oversight Chairman Issa Issues Report Outlining Stimulus Consequences, Lessons Learned

(WASHINGTON) Is President Obama Doubling Down on Failure? A new analysis released today by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) documents how the stimulus failed—and even pushed the country deeper into recession—and at what cost. The report said the American people should bear in mind this record as President Obama presents his next economic recovery plan to the nation tonight.

Highlights of the Oversight Committee review of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act include:

• Two and a half years after its implementation, at a cost of $825 billion, the economy has lost 2.3 million jobs;

• In the months following the stimulus, unemployment rose well above the ceiling of 8 percent promised by President Obama and Administration officials to over 10.1 percent;

• Less than 55 percent of Americans have full time jobs—the lowest percentage in modern times. Some 25 million people are unemployed or unable to find full time jobs;

• A study by Ohio State University in May found that instead of creating jobs, the stimulus “destroyed/forestalled one million private sector jobs” but did create 450,000 jobs in the government sector;

• 8.1 million workers are employed part time because they are unable to find full-time jobs or their hours have been cut;

• An additional 1.1 million discouraged workers have stopped looking for jobs because they do not believe there were any available—taken together, true unemployment tops 16 percent;

President Obama and his Administration have continued to defend the stimulus.

“Unlike President Obama and his Administration, the American people measure stimulus based on whether or not they have seen results. With unemployment stuck above 9 percent and the U.S. economy struggling to recover, it is clear that President Obama’s stimulus did not produce as advertised—it failed plain and simple. Failure to understand the consequences of poor policy decisions will yield only more bad decisions and not the job creation, economic growth and recovery that the American people deserve,” Chairman Issa said.

“Republicans in Congress have provided leadership to help create jobs and grow the economy by offering a responsible budget and policy agenda that cuts out of control government spending, expands domestic energy production, reduces the onerous taxes and regulations of the Obama Administration, and encourages the job-creating, entrepreneurial spirit for which America is known,” Issa said. He added, “It’s time that Democrat leaders in the Senate and the Obama Administration pass an agenda that sparks growth by getting government out of the way of job creators. I hope that President Obama’s son of stimulus proposal outlined tonight will focus on these goals, and not be a repeat of the failed stimulus program.”

A complete copy of the Oversight Committee’s report, “Doubling Down on Failure: Before Asking for a New Stimulus Package, Will the Obama Administration Admit that the First One Failed?” is available here.

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Doubling Down on Failure: Before Asking for a New Stimulus Package, Will the Obama Administration Admit that the First One Failed?