Massive Government Stimulus Has Not Helped Caterpillar as Promised

From the Office of Congressman Aaron Schock

Washington D.C. - A little more than a month after passage of the President’s economic stimulus bill, it has become reality that the hype and promises Caterpillar would not proceed with planned layoffs and rehire laid off workers if Congress passed the stimulus bill was inaccurate.

Congress did pass the stimulus bill and the President got everything he wanted from Congress. Yet, today Caterpillar announced even more layoffs. These additional layoffs confirm CAT workers were misused by the Administration as justification for the stimulus bill.

“These additional layoffs are a result of the on-going recession,” said Schock. “Sadly, the false hopes that passage of the stimulus bill would enable them to keep their jobs are now a horrible letdown. I opposed the stimulus bill because only 6 percent of this massive bill was for infrastructure. I supported legislation that would have created twice the jobs at half the price, and included more funding for infrastructure that would have increased the demand for Caterpillar machinery.”

“In my speech against passage of the flawed stimulus bill, I said ‘this bill is too big to get it wrong,’ but these layoffs are another sign that they did get this bill wrong,” continued Schock. “As a result, we have little increased infrastructure construction, more layoffs, dashed hopes, massive wasteful spending and vastly increased debt.”

“I will join the President and colleagues in Congress if they are willing to embark on a sensible agenda that would lead to economic growth,” Schock concluded. “The challenges we face are too important not to.”

Caterpillar to Cut 20,000 Jobs

From the Wall Street Journal

Caterpillar projected 2009 earnings well below analysts' estimates and said it would cut 20,000 jobs, or about 18% of its work force, to reflect the lower demand. The heavy-machinery maker reported fourth-quarter net income fell 32% on a steep drop in demand at the end of last year, as the global economic downturn worsened and some customers cancelled orders.