Obama expects stimulus bill to be ready by mid-Feb
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama launched a drive on Friday to get his $825 billion economic recovery plan through Congress, predicting lawmakers would resolve differences before a mid-February deadline.
"We are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis that has to be dealt with and dealt with rapidly," Obama told reporters as he met Democratic and Republican congressional leaders at the White House.
Obama, who was sworn in on Tuesday on a mandate of change, has pledged swift action to rescue the U.S. economy from the worst turmoil in decades. With a daily stream of gloomy economic data, he has warned there is little time to lose.
Winning Republican support for the stimulus package will be an early test of Obama's promise to forge consensus and overcome the partisan politics that bitterly divided Washington under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.
In another show of bipartisanship, Obama will meet Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to hear their ideas about the stimulus plan, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Bush rarely visited Congress, preferring to send aides and sometimes his vice president, Dick Cheney.
Obama's appeal to Democrats and Republicans to set aside their differences appeared to pay swift dividends, with the most powerful Republican in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday calling for a joint effort to fix the economy.
It remains to be seen though how long this honeymoon will last.
Republicans, who have voiced concern over the shape of the stimulus package, left the meeting praising Obama for being open to suggestions on amending the plan. They had complained earlier that Democrats, who hold a majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, were ignoring their views.
"I recognise that there are still some differences around the table and between the administration and members of Congress about particular details on the plan," Obama said.
But he added, "It appears that we are on target to make our Presidents Day weekend (target)."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, told reporters after the meeting she, too, believed Congress was on track to have a bill on Obama's desk before the February 16. holiday. "Again, if not, there will be no recess," she said.
REPUBLICAN TAX PROPOSALS
McConnell said he was confident Congress would meet the president's deadline. Republicans on Capitol Hill said their proposed amendments to the stimulus package included tax cuts for workers and new tax deductions for small businesses.
Republicans are upset at the Obama administration's plans for the stimulus money, saying the $550 billion in government spending would add too much to the deficit and that the $275 billion earmarked for tax cuts is too little.
Republicans also say the package includes projects that would not have any immediate effect of boosting the economy, including, according to House Minority leader John Boehner, a huge expansion of federal funding for contraceptives.
"How can you spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives? How does that stimulate the economy?" the Ohio congressman said.
Obama says he aims to create or save 3 to 4 million jobs in the U.S. economy, which has been in a year-long recession since the collapse of the housing market sparked a global panic over bank losses that froze credit markets.
The new president has said rescuing the U.S. economy is his No. 1 priority, and analysts have said that, for now, his first term was likely to be judged on his ability to restore economic and financial stability.
In a change from Bush, Obama has added an economic briefing to his daily schedule to get the latest information.
He was due to receive the briefing from his top economic adviser, Larry Summers, and meet his nominee for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner later on Friday.
(Writing by Ross Colvin, additional reporting by Jeff Mason, David Alexander, Jeremy Pelofsky, Richard Cowan and Tom Ferraro; Editing by Eric Walsh)