U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson says the economic stimulus bill the House passed this week was flawed.

The Urbana Republican on Thursday said he voted against the bill because it was too pricey and had "little or nothing to do" with job creation or improving the American economy.

"The price of this stimulus package is at a mind-boggling level," Johnson said. "Instead, we need to call it a deficit stimulus package."

But Johnson said he would fight to ensure the package includes money for projects and programs in East Central Illinois.

"Obviously, if the bill passes, I want to do everything I can to take some of this grossly overspent money and get some of it spent on my district," he said.

The House passed the bill 244-188, with no Republicans among the supporters. The Senate is expected to consider the measure next week. While Johnson said the economy needs some kind of stimulus, he had issues with this proposal.

"I've had people estimate this will add over $1 trillion to our national debt, saddling this generation and generations to come with the problem of paying off this mountain of debt," he said.

Johnson said he would have preferred a plan that provided tax relief, incentives for purchases of homes and energy-efficient products, and incentives for small businesses to retain employees and create jobs.

He expressed concern over the growing number of people who have lost jobs, noting that people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time are at a 26-year high.

"Our economy is in crisis," Johnson said. "We need to add tax cuts for the middle class. We're losing jobs across all categories; no sector is untouched.

"We have a housing crisis; our financial institutions are in disarray; manufacturing is slumping ever downward; and there's no end in sight."

While specifics of how the package will be spent are yet to be worked out, Johnson said he was pleased with some portions of the bill, especially provisions to build roads and bridges and repair the transportation network.

Johnson said he wished the legislation had included more than the $30 billion designated for infrastructure. "Not only are these rehabilitation projects desperately needed, but they also put people to work the fastest," he said.

Johnson said he was pleased that money for higher education and elementary education was included in the bill and hopes to channel some of that money to his district.

Since language in the measure includes money for carbon sequestration projects, Johnson would like to see some of it pay for building the FutureGen "clean coal" plant in Mattoon. He was also hopeful some money could be funneled to cleanup of the former Chanute Air Force Base and other local projects.

Johnson said he was concerned the stimulus package was passed without going through the committee procedure that most bills go though.

"Instead of taking this a piece at a time in a measured and judicious way, Congress lumped everybody's wish lists in together and forced them down the throats of all Americans," he said.

Johnson said it was inappropriate for Democrats to include $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and $335 million for sexually transmitted disease education as part of an economic stimulus bill.

"This is a Trojan horse that does nothing to help the economy," Johnson said. "I have nothing against the NEA or STD education, but they are not exactly engines of job creation."

Transit funding proposed

An amendment to the economic recovery package approved by the House would provide money for transit improvements, including $950,000 for mass transit districts in Champaign and Danville.

Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Executive Director Bill Volk said the district would spend its money on security cameras, a bus operator training simulator, new vans, replacing fare boxes and emission filters for buses.

Danville Public Transportation Director Dick Brazda said the state solicited project proposals for the economic stimulus package. Danville submitted plans for two, he said. One is a proposal to buy three new buses, and the second is a plan to expand the department's garage area and parking lot.

"Right now, it's so narrow with our 35-foot buses that we have to back up to get in the garage," Brazda said.

News-Gazette staff writers Tim Mitchell and Pam Dempsey contributed to this story.