Q&A: What Would Make You Push For a Second Stimulus?

States are set to receive funds over the next several years under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. With money starting to reach stimulus projects, Stateline.org asked state legislators meeting for the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit in Philadelphia what it would take for them to push for another stimulus program for their state.

What development in your state would
lead you to push for a second stimulus package?

If it’s going to be another stimulus, it needs to come directly to the states for infrastructure- schools, roads, parks, libraries…. I do think the stimulus is working. I think it’s turning around slowly.

-Massachusetts state Rep. Kathi Anne Reinstein (D)

If the Big Three automakers would plunge farther than they have. They’re coming out of bankruptcy, but if for some reason all three of them take an even deeper plunge, I think, for Michigan, that would be catastrophic, and that is where I could see asking for help at the national level.

-Michigan state Sen. Mark C. Jansen (R )

You’re asking me a difficult question. The first stimulus didn’t do what its intention was. It didn’t create jobs with disposable income. If we would push a second stimulus, we would need to see that it could achieve what the first one didn’t.

-New Hampshire state Rep. Patrick Long (D)

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We’re already so far in debt as a country.

-Illinois state Sen. Pamela Althoff (R)

None. Right now we need to internally look at how we’re doing business…It’s too early to tell how (the first stimulus) is going to help all of us.

-Illinois state Sen. Donne Trotter (D)

I think the states could always use more money but considering our children and grandchildren will pay for this, I’m up in the air about a second stimulus. If it’s done the same way, it has to trickle down more to states.

-Mississippi state Rep. Steve Holland (D)

No. I’m concerned about the cost of it and how we will pay for it. We spent money we didn’t have. I’m not saying we didn’t make good use of it.

Yes. The first stimulus did not have enough money for shovel ready infrastructure projects.

-Arkansas state Rep. Richard Carroll (D)

Hell no. The first stimulus hasn’t worked and isn’t going to work. Normally we’d have come out a recession by now.

-Texas state Rep. Charles Anderson (R)

I think people would prefer that the federal government would take a deep breath and take a look at how the economy is going before they enter into a new program or try to stimulate it. Undoubtedly, if they put more money into a stimulus package, it would probably be laden with other programs that would be unrelated to stimulus.

-Illinois state Rep. Bob Flider (D)

There has been discussion about the need for it – or at least looking at a – a second stimulus in order for the states to really recover. They need time to recover. Otherwise they will just sink in debt even further.

-Hawaii state Sen. Les Ihara (D)

I don’t know if it’s likely or not, but I am concerned that, while we needed some more money, that stimulus isn’t stimulus, it’s more just spending.

-Michigan state Sen. Bill Hardiman (R)

Alaska, as we found out the last couple of days, actually has a better budget than a lot of other states here. We didn’t really have any big deficits this year. A lot of our budget is oil revenues. Oil prices were really high. As far as Alaska goes, we’re really in a good position. The rest of the lower 48 had to make huge cuts to their budgets. But Alaska pretty much stayed neutral. We’re real excited about that.

-Alaska state Rep. Scott Kawasaki (D)

Original Stateline Story