Republicans say President Barack Obama's first 100 days in office can be summed up in three words: spending, taxing, borrowing.
In the party's weekly radio and Internet address, Rep. Lynn Jenkins chided Obama and Democrats in Congress for pushing through a $787 billion stimulus package and a $3 trillion federal budget for next year that she said will waste taxpayers' dollars and burden future generations.
"The plans they've passed in the first 100 days will add more to our nation's public debt than all previous presidents combined in 200-plus years," said the Kansas Republican, a former state treasurer. "They've taken away President Obama's promised middle-class tax cut and paved the way for a new national energy tax to be paid by every American who dares to flip on a light switch."
Pointing to the stimulus package, Jenkins contended millions of dollars have already needlessly gone for a homeless program in a town which doesn't have such a problem, an artwalk in New York as well as sidewalks and trash cans outside a Michigan casino.
"This bill was supposed to be about jobs, but it's gone off the rails in practically no time at all," she said. "It's quickly turning into a symbol of everything wrong with Washington, D.C. — unchecked spending, no accountability and oversight."
Jenkins said Republicans believe they can help rebuild people's savings, revitalize the housing market and create "twice as many jobs as the Democrats' 'stimulus' at half the cost."
"Middle-class families and small businesses across America are tightening their belts and making sacrifices each and every day during this recession, and Republicans believe that it's time for Washington to do the same," she said.
