U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, right, visits with Cottonwood Inc. consumer Milissa Hicklin, who has worked at Cottonwood for 33 years. Jenkins toured the agency during a trip to Lawrence on Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Topeka, said the recent economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed into law Wednesday did not do enough to help states and local governments with infrastructure improvements.

“Less than 3.5 percent will be spent on roads and bridges, and I think that’s unfortunate,” Jenkins said Wednesday during a visit to Lawrence. “It looks just like a big spending bill to me, and I’m thinking that’s not the direction we should be going right now, given the national debt is already $12 trillion.”

Jenkins joined the four other Republican members of the state congressional delegation in not supporting the stimulus bill.

On Wednesday she toured Cottonwood Inc., 2801 W. 31st St., a Lawrence nonprofit that provides services to people with developmental disabilities.

The organization also operates a line to assemble military straps and other items.

Jenkins, the former state treasurer who defeated Democrat Nancy Boyda for the seat in November, said she supported a bill by the Republican leadership that included deeper tax cuts and more spending on roads and bridges.

The Kansas Democratic Party on Wednesday sent out a statement criticizing Jenkins and calling her the “Herbert Hoover of 2009.”

“By opposing the economic recovery act, Lynn Jenkins voted against creating 33,000 Kansas jobs,” said Chris Harris, communications director for the Kansas Democratic Party. “It doesn’t take a (Certified Public Accountant) to understand the beneficial impact it will have on our Kansas economy.”

Also during her visit, Jenkins said Fort Leavenworth was still at the top of the list as a candidate to relocate detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Jenkins and other Kansas leaders have strongly opposed housing the detainees in northeastern Kansas.

“Fort Leavenworth is just not the place for those detainees for a whole host of reasons, and we’ve sent that message to the president. This isn’t a partisan issue at all,” Jenkins said.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat and Obama ally, in recent weeks also echoed those sentiments.