Porkulus II: Return of the Phony Jobs Boondoggle

By Michelle Malkin
February 10, 2010 08:57 AM



My column today looks at the phantom Porkulus II/Jobs Bill. I say “phantom” because there is no bill text I can actually point you to — it’s the same business-as-usual we’ve been subjected to since Porkulus I. GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was on the Senate floor yesterday pleading to see the legislation: ““My members need to be able to feel like they understand what they are being called upon to support.” God save us from bipartisanship. (And yes, Obama-defined bipartisanship = surrender.)

Update: The Hill has a leaked draft version of the bill titled the “”Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act”


For a Good Laugh Click Here

But: “After a meeting between President Barack Obama and the bipartisan congressional leadership of the House and Senate, Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear that the jobs bill remains a work in progress so the document does not represent the final package.” Remember back in the good old days when the Senate would deliberate and committees would work on legislation out in the open? Yeah, getting hard to remember those days…

The 362-page draft bill touches on a vast array of areas, including extensions for unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance premiums, tax incentives designed to spur hiring, spending programs on transportation initiatives, low-income housing credits, energy programs, disaster relief, an extension of Patriot Act provisions, extensions of Medicare payment programs, and tax proposal aiming to raise revenue from foreign-held assets and trusts.