REPUBLICAN leaders in the House of Representatives yesterday urged their members to oppose an $825 billion (€627 billion) economic recovery plan as President Barack Obama arrived on Capitol Hill to generate support for the proposal.
The president believes the package of tax cuts and public spending is essential to prevent a catastrophic deterioration in the US economy as unemployment continues to climb.
Hours before Mr Obama met congressional Republicans yesterday, however, John Boehner, the party’s leader in the House, told members the plan contains too much wasteful spending that will not help the economy recover.
The White House-backed plan includes about $550 billion in spending and $275 billion in tax cuts, with most of the spending on items such as healthcare, expanded unemployment benefits, food stamps and other programmes targeting the victims of the recession. House Republicans have drafted an alternative plan made up mainly of tax cuts.
Following his meeting with House Republicans yesterday, the president acknowledged “legitimate philosophical differences” but said it was essential to “keep politics to a minimum” in dealing with the economic crisis. “In some cases they may just not be as familiar with what’s in the package as I would like. I don’t expect 100 per cent 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.”
In an attempt to win over Republicans, Mr Obama has urged Democrats to drop a proposal to spend $200 million on family planning for people on low incomes.
“While he agrees that greater access to family planning is good policy, the president believes that the funding for it does not belong in the economic recovery and reinvestment plan,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
Mr Obama’s visit to Capitol Hill followed Monday night’s Senate confirmation of Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary, despite criticism of Mr Geithner’s failure to pay all his taxes earlier this decade. Some 35 senators voted against Mr Geithner’s confirmation in a larger-than-expected show of opposition that included some leading Democrats.
Mr Gibbs said the president was meeting Republicans yesterday in an attempt to reach a bipartisan consensus on the economic stimulus plan, which he has made the immediate domestic priority of his administration. “The goal is to seek their input. He wants to hear their ideas. If there are good ideas – and I think he assumes there will be – we will look at those ideas,” Mr Gibbs said.
