Obama makes a pitch for economic stimulus plan
US president Barack Obama made a campaign-style pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan today.
He travelled to a hard-hit industrial city in the hope of winning support for a package that has become the first big test since taking office.
Obama was participating in a town hall-style meeting in Elkhart, Indiana.
He plans to hold another one tomorrow in Fort Myers, Florida, and one on Thursday in Peoria, Illinois – two cities suffering particularly hard times.
He was due to hold his first prime-time news conference tonight.
The public appearances come as Mr Obama plunges into a difficult challenge early in his leadership, struggling to get a divided Congress to agree on his economic recovery package while pitching a new plan to ease loans to US consumers and businesses.
“We can’t afford to wait. We can’t wait to see and hope for the best,” Mr Obama said in Elkhart, a community reeling from job losses. “We can’t posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us in into this mess in the first place.”
The Senate’s $827bn (€635bn) stimulus legislation seems assured of a narrow passage by tomorrow.
Harder work for Mr Obama and the Democrats comes in the days ahead, when the House and Senate attempt to reconcile differences in their two versions.
Mr Obama and Democratic Party leaders had hoped to have a bill ready for the president’s signature by next Monday – a deadline that grows more challenging by the day.
“You know, look, it’s not perfect,” the president conceded. “But it is the right size, it is the right scope. Broadly speaking, it has the right priorities to create jobs that will jump-start our economy and transform the economy for the 21st century.”
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner delayed the unveiling of a new bail-out framework for financial institutions from today to tomorrow to let the administration focus on the stimulus legislation.
Mr Geithner is considering steps to broaden the use of a new lending facility at the Federal Reserve, provide government guarantees to help banks deal with their troubled assets, and continue direct infusion of capital into banks in exchange for securities and tougher accountability rules.
Amid the urgency created by nearly 600,000 new unemployed workers last month and new bank failures, Obama’s economic prescriptions are coming under critical scrutiny by both Congress and the American public.
A new poll showed 67% of Americans approve of Mr Obama’s efforts on behalf of the stimulus plan, while 31% give Republicans in Congress an approval rating. The Gallup poll also showed 51% of Americans agree that passing such a bill is critically important.
The House and Senate bills are about seven billion dollars apart in cost and overlap in numerous ways. But the Senate bill has a greater emphasis on tax cuts, while the House bill devotes more money to states, local governments and schools.
Two senators who played a leading role in shaping the $827bn stimulus Senate bill said today it is the best that could be achieved under difficult circumstances and must be passed.
The pair – Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Ben Evans – said they hope that differences between their version and the 827 billion dollar House bill can be worked out in conference.
They spoke on the eve of a critical floor vote on the bill. The measure has attracted the support of Ms Collins and two other Republicans in what supporters believe is enough strength to get it past a key procedural vote later today.
Appearing on NBC television, Ms Collins conceded “the bill is not perfect”. But she said the country is facing a crisis and does not need “a partisan divide”.
In Elkhart, Mr Obama answered a question from a woman about failed Cabinet nominees who withdrew amid controversy over their tax returns.
He said he has taken responsibility for the perception that some people should not have to play by the same rules as everyone else.
Two nominees, including Tom Daschle, who was in line to be secretary of health and human services, withdrew from consideration after revelations of tax problems.
But he added that the mistakes were honest ones and said: “If you’re not going to appoint anybody who’s ever made a mistake in your life, then you’re not going to have anybody taking your jobs.”
