WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has made promising bipartisan overtures to Republicans on the economic stimulus bill he backs, said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.
As for Senate Democratic leadership, however, we’ll see, the senator said.
Drafting the stimulus bill has “gone like a freight train so far,” Sen. Alexander said. But “it’s more important to get it right than it is to get it done in a matter of days. Republicans have not had a chance to influence the bill. Our first chance will be next week.”
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., was even more blunt.
“I understand that some targeted spending may be necessary, but it’s hard for me to believe that anybody could seriously call this a stimulus package,” he said. “It’s a potpourri of spending in multiple directions with no discernible outcome intended.”
As it stands, the Senate version of the Democratic-backed economic stimulus package looks to be even larger than the $819 billion bill that passed the House on Wednesday, although no Republicans voted in favor of it. The price tag of the Senate bill, which enjoys some GOP support, is approaching $900 billion, a combination of government spending and tax cuts aimed at reinvigorating the country’s ailing economy.
Much of the spending is targeted for highway and school construction and other infrastructure projects, along with state aid for programs such as Medicaid.
The president has made the stimulus a centerpiece of his early agenda, and on Wednesday he invited congressional leaders from both parties to the White House to court them for support.
“We’re going to continue to listen, strengthen the package,” Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. “My presumption is that we’ll pick up support on both sides of the aisle on this.”
Sen. Alexander, who holds the No. 3 leadership post among Senate Republicans, attended the meeting at the White House and said he appreciates the president’s message on bipartisanship. But he said Republicans remain concerned about the escalating levels of spending in the bill and will try to “refocus” it on fixing the housing markets and emphasizing tax breaks and incentives.
“The stimulus needs a truth-in-packaging label,” he said. “It’s becoming a grab bag of every appropriation anyone can think of.”
Both Sen. Alexander and Sen. Corker are being targeted by Laborers International Union of North America, which is running ads throughout Tennessee urging them to ensure that more of the stimulus package goes toward generating jobs. The ads are running on CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, ESPN2 and FX in the Chattanooga market.
“Tell Sen. Corker, we need an economic recovery climate (that) builds America, not more tax breaks for the rich,” one of the ads says.
Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has proposed a tax credit of $15,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less, on the purchase of any home. The proposal has gained the support of many Republicans, and he said he hopes to include it as an amendment to the stimulus bill during floor debate next week.
“If you don’t fix housing first, you’re not going to fix anything else,” he said.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., criticized the House bill as fiscally irresponsible.
“We need to see a different focus in the stimulus bill,” he said. “The Senate bill that will come to the floor will look different than the House version, and I hope we will be able to amend the bill so that it is more responsive to the needs of Americans.”
Both Alabama senators — Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, also said they’re opposed to the stimulus bill as currently drafted.
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