Newsroom

WASHINGTON—Yesterday, Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Finance Committee, was interviewed on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace to discuss the $1 trillion spending proposal by the Democrats and the administration’s plan to release the second half of TARP funds. Below are excerpts of his remarks.  To view a full transcript of the interview, click here.Sen. Cornyn Explains His Opposition To The Plan Sen. Cornyn: “This Is Not An Economic Document. This Is A Political Document Drawn Up By Speaker Pelosi And Democrats In The House”: “[I]t's important to understand … this is not an economic document. This is a political document drawn up by Speaker Pelosi and Democrats in the House. Didn't have a single Republican vote. “And so I think having three Republicans, potentially, support it in the Senate out of 535 members of Congress is hardly a bipartisan effort. I think it's a disappointment – surely must be for President Obama.” Sen. Cornyn: “I Don't Think We Have Any Confidence It Will Actually Work … Other Than To Create A Deficit”: “And it still represents 1.1 or so trillion dollars of spending, including the interest on the debt and, of course, these – this is a debt our children and grandchildren are going to have to pay. I don't think we have any confidence it will actually work, either, other than to create a deficit, actually crowd out private investment, as the Congressional Budget Office has said, in the longer term. “I certainly don't [think] that this will actually work now, to spend a lot of money we don't have for things we don't need in a stimulus package.” Sen. Cornyn: “In The Longer Term … This Could Crowd Out Private Investment. It Could Hurt The Economy”: “Well, I fully expect this bill to pass with almost exclusively Democratic support. But as the Congressional Budget Office has said, in the longer term, actually this could crowd out private investment. It could hurt the economy. “And I just have to say that in – in the New Deal with – Secretary Morgenthau was famously quoted as saying, ‘We tried spending, and it didn't work,’ in the New Deal. And I don't know that we have any confidence – I certainly don't – that this will actually work now, to spend a lot of money we don't have for things we don't need in a stimulus package.” Sen. Cornyn: “Let's Fix Housing First”:   “What I really think we ought to focus on initially is housing. Let's fix housing first. While this bill has a very important tax credit that Senator Johnny Isakson and others have championed, it does virtually nothing else to fix the very – what's caused the problem in the first place, which is the decline in housing. “And I think that should be our focus on this so-called stimulus bill, not just spending on social programs and racking up more debt.” Sen. Cornyn: “I Don't Think Harry Reid And Nancy Pelosi Actually Got The Memo From The President When It Comes To Bipartisan Cooperation. That's Why You're Seeing This Outcome”: “[T]he president has done a good job reaching out to Republicans, and he has said he wants to approach this crisis, like other problems the country has, on a bipartisan basis. That's good, and we're willing to work with him on that. “But this bill is not the president's bipartisan plan. It's Nancy Pelosi's plan, and she said, ‘We won the election. We're writing the bill.’ And that's what happened in the – in the House. “And I think every Republican suggestion that's been offered during the course, almost without exception, has been defeated along a party-line vote. “[I] don't think Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi actually got the memo from the president when it comes to bipartisan cooperation. That's why you're seeing this outcome.” Sen. Cornyn Discusses TARP II Sen. Cornyn: “I Was Disappointed At The Lack Of Transparency And Accountability”: “Well, I voted for the original economic rescue package because on a bipartisan basis we were told the economy was going to melt down unless we did so, but I was disappointed at the lack of transparency and accountability. “And frankly, even the prior administration used those funds for purposes that Congress did not authorize. For example, the Big Three auto manufacturers were bailed out when the Senate expressly declined to authorize that.” Sen. Cornyn: “Here We Go Spending More Money Again After We Are Going To Vote … On A Partisan Basis Largely, A $1.1 Trillion Spending Package”: “But you know, here we go spending more money again after we are going to vote, I assume, to pass, on a partisan basis largely, a $1.1 trillion spending package. “There's also the omnibus appropriation bill from last year that remains in the … pipeline. And it's just spending as far as the eye can see.” To view a video of the interview, click here.