Ryan ChartrandThe fanfare is over and the work has begun on Capitol Hill. In a show of unprecedented bipartisanship, the president met with Republicans Tuesday to hear their concerns over the first major piece of legislation to come from Obama’s administration – and it is a huge proposal.
Obama’s $825 billion recovery plan invests in arts programs, physics, green energy, children’s health care, Pell grants, nation-wide infrastructure rebuilding and education – all key elements of Obama’s campaign, plus more.
In truth, the major aspects of this stimulus package are no different from the platform of change that Obama ran on. If Republicans want a definition of the hope and change that America voted for, this stimulus package is it.
For the past two weeks, Republicans have made their objections heard on all of the major news stations in America, pressure-selling us the same old 1980s Pinto rhetoric from the glory days of their Gingrich-Rovian past.
Representative Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) sputtered out his concerns over whether some of the proposals will actually stimulate the economy, and on the Jan. 18 “Meet the Press” his worries were highlighted for comment from Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Among Lewis’ concerns over Obama’s stimulus package is a $15.6 billion increase in Pell grants for college students.
Emanuel expressed surprise that the increase in Pell grant funding would be flagged as an area of concern because, he said, “the ability to provide people the opportunity to go to college in a era where you earn what you learn is human capital investment.”
Without the commitment of financial aid, the promise of an education means nothing, and once that particular leveling of our society is removed, the gap between the rich and the poor will become even more suffocating.
With the California budget still in crisis and the strength of the California State University system hanging in the balance, Republicans questioning the necessity of increasing Pell grant funding should fuel outrage – especially when the questions come from a Republican Representative from our very own state.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner and his minions’ concerns over the $300 billion in aid that will be used to shore up state budget deficits around the country.
On Sunday’s “This Week” she said, “The states are in terrible fiscal budget crisis now and part of it, what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements, are to help the states meet their financial needs.”
While I am confident that the California budget crisis will not remain too far past its current 83-day quagmire before some solid proposals are hashed out again, I also think it is worthwhile to point out where our legislators’ hearts and minds are right now.
I do not hear state legislators or Gov. Schwarzenegger himself deferring their salaries in order to ensure that the important state programs remain untouched. While we students – the future of California – are wondering whether our next grant will come as promised, state legislators and the Governator remain in their lofty offices bickering over ideology.
In fact, the Governor created a new position with a six-figure salary for former Assemblywoman Nicole Parra just last week.
I for one will take a much closer look at who I vote for the next time California legislators’ seats are up for re-election. You can bet I won’t be voting for the incumbents.
However, we can see this crisis improve with the passing of Obama’s recovery plan. Almost a third of the money that Obama seeks as part of his economic stimulus plan is going to the states, and I think that if the California budget gets some help from the federal government, they may be more likely to fund education at all levels and the grants that would otherwise be delayed.
The only Republican concern over Obama’s recovery plan I saw as legitimate was the extravagant funding for Planned Parenthood, but President Obama and House Democrats threw out the funding for that on Tuesday. Aside from that, the Republicans’ arguments are proving to be contrived efforts to hinder the positive process of change in America, like an annoying, unexplainable whirring in your car engine.
Whatever happens regarding Obama’s recovery plan, Republicans just need to trade in their 1980s Pinto clunkers for talking points from this epoch, otherwise they will be left stranded in the deserts of their rhetoric while Obama, free-thinking Republicans, Democrats and the vast majority of Americans speed ahead in our 2010 Honda Hybrid Insights.
Stephanie England is an English junior and Mustang Daily political columnist.