GOP Sens. Robert Bennett, Jeff Sessions, and Pat Roberts criticized the stimulus bill at a news conference in Washington last week. Senate Republicans want to cut social spending items from the bill and incorporate more tax cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
Senators want to alter stimulus
Republicans are poised to cut spending, increase tax cuts, and refocus on homeowners.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ February 2, 2009 edition
Reporter Gail Chaddock talks with CSMonitor.com's Pat Murphy about the economic stimulus proposal now up for debate in the US Senate.
Reporter Gail Chaddock
Washington
As the Senate takes up an $888 billion economic recovery plan this week, lawmakers – piling on from both sides of the aisle – want to lop items they say will create more debt than stimulus.
In the cross hairs: $50 million for the arts, $15 billion for college scholarships, $198 million in once-promised benefits to Filipino World War II veterans, $1 billion to fix the next census, $150 million for honey-bee insurance, $600 million for more fuel-efficient government cars, and so on.
A $200 million item to resod the National Mall was the first to bite the dust. President Obama urged dropping it before bringing the stimulus bill to the House, where it passed last week without a single Republican vote.
But the president needs more GOP support in the Senate, where Democrats are two votes shy of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. To get those votes – and even hold on to skeptics on their own side of the aisle – Democrats need to make changes in the bill.
In all, Senate Republicans want to excise some $200 billion in projects on the social spending side, while beefing up tax cuts and spending on infrastructure.
“We’re not trying to prevent a package from passing, we’re trying to reform it,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at a briefing on Monday. That means: “Housing first, tax relief for middle-and lower-income tax payers to put money back in their pockets immediately.”
Mr. McConnell also criticized Democrats for adding protectionist elements to the stimulus plan, referring to mandates to buy American in the House-passed version of the bill. That, he said, would set off international trade wars.
Senate Republicans also want to target the plan on the foreclosure crisis, which they see as ground zero for the nation’s economic woes. GOP amendments expected to be offered this week include a proposal to offer 4.5 percent mortgages to qualified homeowners to help avoid foreclosures.
Senators on both sides of the aisle are also lobbying colleagues to back an amendment to increase homebuyers’ tax credit.
“Housing is the root cause of how we got here and has got to be a major part of any stimulus bill. And credit is the 90 percent issue as a result of what happened in housing,” says Sen. Bob Corker (R) of Tennessee. “If you try to lay a potpourri of massive spending on top of a foundation that’s not solid, it’s going to be totally wasted.”
Just look at the mass of proposed projects, he says. The state of Tennessee has a budget gap of $900 million, but is on track to get some $3.8 billion if the Senate bill becomes law.
“I want our state to be treated like the other states, but my point is there is no thought in this massive spending package,” the senator says.
Democrats also have concerns
At the same time, many Senate Democrats are signaling concerns with the bill as it emerged from the Senate Appropriations and Finance panels.
Last week, Sen. Kent Conrad (D) of North Dakota, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, said that he could not support the Senate bill in its present form.
“We all owe it to give our very best and write a package that meets the tests of temporary, timely, and targeted,” he said.
While some Democrats describe new health and education spending in the bill as a “down payment,” others insist that this spending is not intended to be permanent.
“Increases for programs as varied as food stamps, loan guarantees, and education, for example, are being made available with the clear understanding that the level of resources provided in this measure are to respond to this crisis and will not be sustained in the future,” said Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) of Hawaii, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a hearing on the bill on Jan. 27.
Other Democrats want to see the balance in the stimulus plan shifted toward more spending on infrastructure.
“Some stimulus is clearly more stimulus than other,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D) of Nebraska, who also saids he could not support the bill in its current form.
“If you look at our problem as an urgent need to provide jobs and a long-term need not to sink the country fiscally, the thing that meets both those needs best are … infrastructure projects,” says Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) of Rhode Island.
“When you lay out the money, in addition to getting the jobs, you get also the hard asset you’re left with – the new highway, or the new bridge, or the repaired sewage treatment facility,” he adds.
A bid for broad support
In a bid to encourage a bipartisan vote, Senate Democrats have promised an open amendment process this week – a sharp break from the way both Democrat and Republicans used majority powers in the last few Congresses.
“I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor that we are going to see substantial support,” said Mr. Obama in an interview with NBC News on Sunday.
He added that he would urge Congress to cut elements of the bill that don’t contribute to “putting people back to work right now.”
Citing the president’s comments, Republicans this week say they’re hoping that Democratic leaders will get in line with the president’s priorities.
With the current balance of seats in the Senate, Republicans can’t expect that they’re going to win all or even many of their amendments, said McConnell in the briefing on Monday, adding, “But there is considerable Democratic senatorial unrest on this package.”
“We have a bill that was worked out with the House and Senate and the White House,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate majority leader Harry Reid. He adds that if people have suggestions on how to change it, Senator Reid has said he was open to them.
( More stories )
Comments
2. isahbiazhar | 02.02.09
Squabbling will not solve the problwm.Any delay will make the situation worse.The world is waiting for the stimulus to work so that their own stimulus will move.Otherwise it will be worse than the Depression.
3. Cheryl Wightman | 02.02.09
More infrastructure projects should be in the package to create jobs and repair & build infrastructure that we can all enjoy and take pride in. Tax credits for alternative energy are essential(e.g. solar collectors on homes, fuel efficient autos (electric & other), wind & water power are essential to bring about change & lessen our dependency on foreign oil; as well as, incentives for developing new practical green technology. Tax cuts should be promised with a future time frame, but should wait until our budget gets stronger & the stimulus is working. People tend to pay off debts or save rather than spend it. We also need to heavily tax companies that take jobs overseas. We need our companies to hire our own citizens, even if the cost for services and goods increases.
4. BIGTEX | 02.02.09
Their beacon Rush Limbaugh said it best for the GOP “I HOPE HE FAILS”. Since by failure that would be the recovery of the USA economy that pretty much says where the GOP stands on “GOD & country first”. Protect our Chinese trading partners and their like. It is ok to fuel an communist work force but will take no chance of money being spent on American middle class. GOP passed the bail out for Wall street with no stipulations. What a perverted traitorous group of countrymen we must suffer.
5. Rollin Carlblom | 02.02.09
Why aren’t wee looking basically at putting the money at the bottom of the ‘food chart’. Give the money to the taxpayers, then they can spend it in the miriad of economies: food (helps the grocery industry from botttom to top),to buy a car (helps the auto industry), take a trip (helps the airline industry), etc. All industries will end up with a share.
Giving it to the top of the food chain is only a temporary, short fix — only days or weeks. And if we give it to them and people continue to get laid off, who will there be or how many will there be left to buy from those companies? They will continue to struggle Or FAIL, becuase few will be left to buy from them.
The money is coming from the people, so give it to them as an ‘advance’ that they will end up giving back in sales tax, etc. AND, the economy will recover faster.
6. Dan | 02.02.09
It really is too bad that the GOP hasn’t gotten past this endless dogma of “tax cuts. tax cuts. tax cuts”, yet their spending hasn’t decreased for their own projects. It’s like someone who is constantly spending on their charge-card and then whining about making smaller monthly payments.
Obviously the endless tax-cuts has run its course and it is time for them to come up with something…. anything… At the very least just make a list of things that they “like” about the bill rather than whining about how much it costs.
I’m really tired of it. I gave up voting republican after GWB’s first term. I don’t see myself ever going back.
ever.
7. Anon | 02.02.09
Notice how misleading the chart is - the stimulus bar is wider than other bars even though its only the length that indicates amount.
More republican deception. They deserve to fail - the brats.
8. BlueCollarDollar.com | 02.02.09
I recently wrote a piece suggesting that the proposed stimulus bill was simply a fishing expedition conducted by President Obama. How else could know the GOP until you offered up a better idea than any of the previous eight years had accomplished. Of course he will include their suggestions, many of which do not produce a single job or stimulate the economy in a meaningful short-term or long-term way and do so as a courtesy, a nod toward being part of an important historical shift.
Take the recent noise about four percent mortgages. They suggest that this will help middle America. But with lending standards as high as they are, creditors relying on credit scores that keep those standards well out of reach for any but the best funded citizenry, and those that may be interested acting sheepish about the process, the markets will continue to stand still.
The Obama plan needs to be tweaked. He left enough “what if” proposals on the table to give the GOP the satisfaction of participating. But in the end, he will make a decision and we are fortunate enough to have a majority who agrees.
10. David | 02.02.09
I don’t completely trust the Senate Republicans to truly take a stand against crazy ideas like those making up the president’s ’stimulus’ bill, but I am always glad to hear them saying something rather then nothing. They’ll end up backing the revised bill stuffed with even more pork and insanity in the long run. Wow, we’re screwed, govt is ballooning out of control into the welfare state. Sorry kids, grand kids—Bye bye freedom, we were too busy bailing ourselves out of troubles and hard work, than to make the sacrifices necessary to keep you around.
11. hsr0601 | 02.02.09
From Stupid Greed To Smart Grid // The battery in the new breed of electric car can both give and receive, taking a charge and then, through the same electrical cord, sending some of its stored energy back to a hungry electricity grid, as needed.
Supporters see the new plug-in vehicles as a stabilizing addition. They envision thousands or millions of car batteries taking electricity from the grid during low-demand periods, such as overnight, and sending electricity back into the grid at times of heavy demand.
Better still, the car owners could be paid for the electricity they return, perhaps enough to earn back the cost of the car in a few years.
Most owners use their cars just one hour a day. In a “vehicle-to-grid” world, “the other 23 hours, that device belongs to the system,” said Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
THANK YOU !
12. hsr0601 | 02.02.09
It is my understanding that the explosive overpopulation especially in China, India, Brazil , which make up almost half the global population, can be behind this financial crunch. As China, India fell short of self-sufficiency in natural resources unlike before, they began hunting for the resources from the other countries, meanwhile, the U.S. opted for a seemingly convenient path of invasion rather than advanced science /technology available for sustainable energies, worse yet, during that period petrol cost has shown steep increase, which finally has disorganized a century-old energy base. Until recently, nonsense thus overruled science, low price prouct quality. Now this century calls for a fresh, smart energy base, like a old saying, nothing adventured, nothing gained, I’d say. The smart idea to reduce the deficit can go to energy-saving endeavour, and it is a matter of life and death for the now and future, I think.
13. James | 02.02.09
you guys droped the rock on your own foot ,
the citizens of this world are hungring the economic recovery plan ,don’t make us disappointed ,
success, American,
failed ,American ,
all about you !
14. maya | 02.02.09
I agree with the GOP that money should be spent on infrastructure, as it creates jobs now as well as laying groundwork for the future. I also wholeheartedly believe that the same argument needs to be applied to funding education, the arts and social services (including welfare programs). Social Workers, Educators, and people working in the Arts are a large part of our country’s workforce along with construction workers and engineers. We do not simply need to create more jobs, whatever they may be, we need to make sure all kinds of people with all kinds of skill and experience remain employed. Welfare programs, if implemented correctly, create non-profit and social service jobs from which many employees are currently being laid-off from, for lack of funding. The Bill should remain as it is and pass, if only politicians could look past their noses.
15. Ted | 02.03.09
For too long Congress has played the pork game. Even the President has told the nation to grow up and put aside childish behavior with regards to being able to accept the reality that we can not expect to get everything we want. Much in this legislation House Democrats accepted in this bill is not related to stimulus, but if these “extra” porvisons are worthy of consideration let them stand on their own accord where they can be honestly debated in the light of day and open to honest appraisal by Congress and the people.
We as a nation have been given a chance to right wrongs committed under false pretenses - but this charade is nothing more than a repetition of shoddy political practices from the recent past. A mockery of bi-partisanship has been committed and promises by House Democrats to find ways to be both fair and fiscally responsible have been disregarded.
I highly recommend that strong efforts be made to keep on task and resist the opportunism that the House vote seems to suggest that politics as usual is still in play. As a historical reminder, even FDR during the worst of the depression never hid his intentions behind bills not directly addressing the issue of his concern. Banking, securities, housing and public works were all handled by specific legislation. Outcome and efficiency of these programs are debatable, but isn’t that the point? The House leadership seem to have forgotten this important aspect.
16. Uthor | 02.03.09
Rollin Carlblom, the problem with putting money “at the bottom of the ‘food chart’” is it getting into the hands of people who don’t need it. I’m in no way wealthy, but I live within my means. If I were to get a tax break, the money would go directly into my savings account, same as when I got my money from the stimulus package last year. I’ve read the savings rate as being somewhere in between 20% and 60% during that time. Certainly that would be a smaller percentage this year, but it’s still a significant portion of the “stimulus” not actually doing anything to help.
17. Ms. R. | 02.03.09
Can we take a step back away from democrat and republican and look at the “stimulus package.” If the purpose of the package is to stimulate, then why are/were there provisions for Fillipino vets, census spending, contraceptives, etc.? As a registered Democrat (soon to be independent), I can clearly see that some saw the urgency and took the opportunity to include the many spending items that have been blocked in previous years. Case in point, did anyone hear the Speaker of the House try to explain how contraceptive spending is a stimulus (Painful)? I think we all agree that we are in some troubling times, but can we start truly being honest with ourselves and work towards the true intent of the bill.
18. Jeff | 02.03.09
The “stimulus” seems like it’s a convenient excuse to spend on political special interests that politicians wanted to do anyway but without any constraint of fiscal responsibility. Every cent is borrowed from the future in addition to the other, current massive deficits. It doesn’t matter what was done wrong by the Bush administration and Republicans in the past. This bill needs to be evaluated and pass muster on it’s own, not excused in comparison to some past misdeeds. There is no clear or easy way out of the huge economic hurt from a collapsing bubble-driven economy. Assets have to be re-priced to realistic values. Housing prices should not be held up with government subsidies beyond their pre-bubble, long-term average relative to incomes at which point that market will work again. If anything getting there quicker sets the stage for recovery.
19. Brian K. Lapointe | 02.03.09
I as an American Citizen who voted for BaracK Obama want this package to be a clear compromise for infrastructure,and tax cuts,nothing else. Use the rest of the Tarp money for housing refinancing for people in foreclosure. Now is not the time for Democrats to add anything else. There will be plenty of time for that later. Get this economy going again or Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should resign their positions. The American people want you to prove you can compromise now that you are in control, not act like Republicans, and run over the other party. Either work together or suffer losses in two years, period.
20. Steve | 02.03.09
IMHO letting either the Democrats or Republicans alone craft any spending bill (let alone one this size) is a recipe for disaster. The best bills come where there is real compromise. (I won’t comment on how often this actually happens.) From what I see the changes the Republicans propose are sound and should improve the bill. It’s time for the Democrats on congress to do some legitimate compromising. (Yes, I think the issue here is with congressional Democrats — no Obama.)
21. DMS | 02.03.09
I can’t help but laugh at all the democratic partisan platitudes. When are you people going to wake up and ralize this is every American’s problem, not just people who label themselves democrats? We, the American people, have to pay for the pork that’s been shoveled into this so called stimulus bill. One that may well be unnecessary. Waiting a few weeks to examine its contents and make sure we’re getting what we pay for is hardly going to crush our way of life.
22. Nancy Blake | 02.03.09
The Republicans have one great idea which should be at the basis of the recovery plan. The whole thing started because people with a static income were tempted by low fixed rate for two years mortgages, then a massive increase which they couldn’t afford. Repossession serves no one - giving home-owners help, like a permanent low interest-rate mortgage, as the Republicans suggest, would be the soundest possible start. People will do what they can to keep their homes, let’s make it possible, and stop the rot where it began. Rescue the home-owners, then the poorest - people at the bottom will spend because they have to - trickle-down is a myth.
23. george cook | 02.03.09
CLEAN THE “PORK” OUT…and make it a TRUE “STIMULUS PACKAGE!” We dont need any more of the “TAX and SPEND” deals that the Dems usually deal in. and it there is something in the package dealing with ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, and I hear there are some dicy AMNESTY provisions in it….TAKE THEM OUT….Illegal Immigration is JUST THAT…Illegal Immigration….No GOODIES for Illegal Immigrants who DONT pay taxes and are not abiding by our Constitution that everybody else does.
24. Charles van Bassen | 02.04.09
The party who takes as its voice a drug peddling addict who not only was the first one in line to throw stones at other drug addicts but did his best to get everyone else to do the same.Yes I’m talking about Rush Limbaugh,on and on about greatness and such.When are they just going to get out of the way!!!
25. jojobo1 | 02.04.09
IMO Tax cuts don’t help to get our economy going now it would take a year for those to be implemented while building bridges,roads improving and putting our electrical grid underground will create jobs .Now not a year from now.As for future generations we who have worked and paid into the government for 45 to 47 years or more were paying for generations both past and present
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1. solsenz | 02.02.09
Isn’t it amazing that the Republicans, including John McCain talk about spending, when they just came out with numbers and stats regarding the wasted BILLIONS in Iraq that went to Contractors, but did not end up improving their infrastructure and other projects. Billions lost, and sent to people that made huge profit off the American people. All McCain talks about is housing issues.Has he ever applied for a mortgage for his 7+ homes? Is this just another ploy to get money to the Execs of the Wallstreet banking industry? Talk about talking out 2 sides of your mouth. Spending under G.W. has been the highest ever, and with Nothing to show for it. Yes, let’s give more to the execs like BofA who used their tax money for Super Bowl parties for the fat cats. Yep-old and tired ideas. Voting agains American citizens-nice!