Reid’s So-Called “Stimulus” Job Creation Overstated By “Thousands”

(National Republican Senatorial Committee) – According to a report from the Associated Press today, recent White House data on the so-called “stimulus” bill that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) rammed through the Senate this year misled Americans with a gross overstatement of the actual jobs that would be created or saved by the controversial legislation.

Upon passage of the bill in February 2009, Reid promised the stimulus would “protect and create three and a half million jobs across our country, including 34,000 right here in Nevada, with 90% of these jobs created in the private sector.”

But as the AP notes, “An early progress report on President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan overstates by thousands the number of jobs created or saved through the stimulus program, a mistake that White House officials promise will be corrected in future reports.”

In addition, “The AP review found some counts were more than 10 times as high as the actual number of jobs; some jobs credited to the stimulus program were counted two and sometimes more than four times; and other jobs were credited to stimulus spending when none was produced.”

“Today’s report further demonstrates just how incredibly wrong Senator Reid was about the so-called ‘stimulus’ bill, which he claimed would ‘protect and create three and a half million jobs across our country when he rammed it through the Senate in February,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Brian Walsh. “It’s just too bad Reid didn’t mistakenly overestimate the trillion-dollar price tag of the bill instead of overestimating just how many jobs it would create.”

“Unfortunately, Reid hasn’t learned his lesson yet as he attempts to ram another misguided, expensive, and controversial bill through the United States Senate,” Walsh continued. “Instead of playing politics with Nevadans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars, Reid should take note of the failed stimulus debacle and work across the aisle to develop real bipartisan health care reform. If he doesn’t take heed of this lesson, Reid will certainly be held accountable for his divisive hyper-partisan maneuvering when voters in Nevada go to the ballot boxes next year.”

Background Information

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) And The Obama Administration Touted The So-Called “Stimulus” Bill As A Means Of Job Creation:

Senator Reid Said The “Stimulus” Bill Would Create Three And A Half Million Jobs Across The Country, Including 34,000 In Nevada. “For Nevada, the bill we passed has three main components: It will protect and create three and a half million jobs across our country, including 34,000 right here in Nevada, with 90% of these jobs created in the private sector.” (Senator Reid, “Reid Addresses Joint Session Of Nevada Legislature,” Press Release, 2/18/09)

The Obama Administration Claimed The “Stimulus” Bill Would “Jumpstart Growth And Transform Our Economy.” (“American Recovery And Reinvestment Act: State-By-State Jobs Impact,” The White House, 2/13/09)