Obama: Congress must act
By DAVID ESPO
and JENNIFER LOVEN - The Associated Press
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| President-elect Barack Obama finishes speaking about the economy Thursday at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. (AP photo) |
WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to “act boldly and act now” to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Leading lawmakers set an informal goal of mid-February for enacting tax cuts and government spending that could cost as much as $1 trillion.
Democrats complained openly about the incoming administration’s proposed tax cuts, and Republicans warned against excessive new spending, both parties letting Obama know that they intended to place their own stamp on the economic recovery effort.
A call for a $3,000 tax break for job creation drew particular criticism in a private meeting, and numerous lawmakers said Obama had not ticketed enough of his tax proposal for energy projects.
But there was little or no dispute about the need for action.
“If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years,” with unemployment reaching double digits, Obama said in a speech at George Mason University in suburban Virginia. “A bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
Obama’s aides and congressional Democrats have worked for weeks on legislation to create jobs, help the unemployed, cut taxes and aid cash-strapped states. Obama sent his chief political strategist, David Axelrod, and incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, as well as other aides to the Capitol for a series of meetings with lawmakers.
The measure probably will include a bewildering array of provisions – from subsidies to help the newly unemployed afford their health care to a massive new effort to improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings.
Obama said this week he hoped to be able to sign legislation by early to mid-February. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., promised lawmakers she would cancel next month’s planned Presidents’ Day vacation if necessary.
“We are not going home without an economic recovery package,” she said at a news conference.
Lawmakers in both parties were digging into the details – few of which have been made public – and not always liking what they saw.
Democrats emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee had little positive to say about Obama’s tax cut proposals. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., was critical of a proposed tax break for workers and their families.
“Twenty bucks a week. How much of a lift is that going to give?” he said.
Conrad and others said Obama’s blueprint included about $10 billion in tax incentives related to energy, out of about $300 billion overall – a slice they said was too small.
