Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, trying to build support for his economic stimulus plan in advance of a key vote, traveled to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to ask House and Senate Republicans to back the massive, $825 billion package.
But though Republicans praised Obama for listening to their concerns, many said afterward that the cost remained unpalatable.
With the House set to vote on the proposal today, there seemed little chance that the Republicans, who hold almost no power in the chamber, could have a material effect on the package before it heads to the Senate.
Asked if the session with Obama had swayed votes, Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., said, “I doubt that.”
“This package has his brand on it, and I don’t think he’s prepared to change much,” Young said.
Still, Obama appeared to be trying to pressure Republicans to get on board. “The main message I have is that the statistics every day underscore the urgency of the economic situation. The American people expect action,” the president said between his House and Senate meetings.
“There are some legitimate philosophical differences with parts of my plan that the Republicans have, and I respect that,” Obama said. “I don’t expect 100 percent agreement from my Republican colleagues, but I do hope that we can all put politics aside and do the American people’s business right now.”
But even as Obama made the rounds on the Hill, waves of energized Republicans hit the cable airwaves and rolled out news releases condemning the economic plan. They argued that the package contains too much government spending on infrastructure and on other projects, and not enough in tax cuts.
And despite Obama’s attempts at outreach, they bitterly complained that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had locked them out of the legislative process.
“Unfortunately, the bill House Democrats are bringing to the floor this week was not developed under any spirit of bipartisanship, and we see the result: an $825 billion omnibus spending package that will do more to satisfy a spending agenda than create jobs in America,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.
Both sides seized on a new Congressional Budget Office report that concluded the bulk of the spending in the plan would come within the first 18 months of its enactment — but that because of interest payments, its total cost would rise above $1 trillion. Democrats said the report suggested that the economy would receive a quick jolt from the bill. Republicans howled about the cost.
“So we now know that we’re going to go out and borrow a trillion dollars and spend it in the form of a stimulus,” said Rep. Paul Ryan R-Wis. “Much of this spending is slow, occurs well after the recession has gone away and is wasteful.”
Democrats maintain that only a large-scale investment such as the one they are proposing can boost the economy, and that a smaller package runs the risk having little or no effect.