Moran to Obama: Stop the Spending Spree, Now!

First District Congressman and U.S. Senate Candidate Jerry Moran (R-Hays) said today that he opposed President Obama’s plan to take money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in order to fund housing finance agencies in five states, including the embattled Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s home state of Nevada. The other states include California, Florida, Arizona and Michigan.

“This new handout by President Obama creates yet more dependency on government rather than creating the economic conditions that we need for job growth in this country,” Moran said.  “He’s also spending even more money that we don’t actually have. Furthermore, this looks and smells more like a move by the President to help struggling Democrats, like Harry Reid of Nevada, win re-election rather than a genuine way to help struggling homeowners.”  

Moran has called for an immediate freeze on further TARP distributions.

“If the President wants to help homeowners, let him stop creating conditions that further erode the ability of job-creators to grow their businesses and to give people jobs,” he said.  “That’s free enterprise and it’s the greatest housing program known to mankind. President Obama has no right to take taxpayer monies from TARP and distribute it in this manner, particularly when the first stop appears to be for his closest political ally in the Senate.”

In Congress, Moran has led efforts to roll back the massive intrusion of TARP into the American economy.  In 2009, Moran introduced reform legislation that would set a date to end government interference in private businesses that received funds or were outright acquired by TARP. The Government Ownership Exit Plan Act of 2009 would prevent the government from acquiring new ownership in private businesses and prohibits the government from making any management decisions in private businesses in which it already has an ownership interest.   Moran’s legislation was the companion legislation to a similar bill championed by Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

“In the past, the government often took from Peter to give to Paul,” Moran said. “Now, after borrowing trillions of dollars that we don’t have, President Obama is taking money from Peter’s great grandchildren to give to Paul.  Not only is that morally outrageous, but it’s fiscal insanity, which will only make the housing situation and many others, far worse.”