by Mark Silva
President Barack Obama this evening thanked "the Democrats and Republicans in Congress who came together around a hard-fought compromise that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track.''
That would be about three Republicans, however, the ones in the Senate who pushed a plan out with a 61-vote edge and into a conference of Senate and House leaders that ended with some confusion today. (One of the Republcians, Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, is pictured here with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announcing their deal, in an AP photo by Susan Walsh.)
"It's also a plan that will provide immediate tax relief to families and businsses, while investing in priorities like health care, education, energy, and infrastructure that will grow our economy once more,'' said Obama, who tomorrow plans to visit a Caterpillar plant in Peoria -- the company chairman has said he'll be able to hire more people with this plan.
"I'm grateful to the House Democrats for starting this process, and for members in the House and Senate for moving it along with the urgency that this moment demands," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with CBS Evening News tonight, was asked if the devil is now in the details.
"I hope the angels are,'' Pelosi replied, "because what is in the details is how we will create those jobs, how we do it in a transparent way for the world to see with accountability to the public, again to build jobs, build confidence, and stabilize the economy. ''
Is there anything from the Senate that shouldn't be in the package, CBS' Katie Couric asked the House speaker.
"I would like to have seen more of an emphasis on job creation,'' Pelosi said. "I don't think there's any doubt that the house bill created more jobs. But this bill will create three and a half million jobs and three weeks ago we weren't even on this path.
"I always say to my members, respect it for what it does, rather than judge it for what it does not do because this does an enormous amount,'' she said, "And in order for it to instill the confidence into the American people I think we have to believe in what we are doing and we believe in what we are doing.''
Here, courtesy of CBS News, is that full interview:
COURIC: Are you surprised how intimately involved he is in the whole process?
PELOSI: Quite frankly, yes, I said, "Mr. President, neither of us has time for this conversation, especially you, because we really we understand each other, we know where we need to go.
COURIC: Can you tell us anything he said to you, like, "get cracking?"
PELOSI: No, never that, we're always cracking. But it was really a moment for us to have an appreciation-- that in just a little while, maybe a couple of days, we will have passed legislation that will take the country in a new direction, which will begin us down the road of recovery.
COURIC: is the devil in the details?
PELOSI: I hope the angels are because what is in the details is how we will create those jobs, how we do it in a transparent way for the world to see with accountability to the public, again to build jobs, build confidence, and stabilize the economy. The bill that we passed one day, one week and one day after the President's speech honoring the promises he made in that speech, ninety percent of that bill is contained in the senate bill.
COURIC: Is there anything in the Senate version that think shouldn't be in the package?
COURIC: I would like to have seen more of an emphasis on job creation. I don't think there's any doubt that the house bill created more jobs. But this bill will create three and a half million jobs and three weeks ago we weren't even on this path. I always say to my members respect it for what it does, rather than judge it for what it does not do because this does an enormous amount. And in order for it to instill the confidence into the American people I think we have to believe in what we are doing and we believe in what we are doing.
COURIC: When do you think this will come to a vote?
PELOSI: I'm hoping that it, the house will be able to vote for it Thursday or Friday, but I'm hoping for Thursday.
COURIC: What about the senate? Any idea?
PELOSI: Then we'll send it to the senate they have different rules as to how they bring legislation up, but very soon certainly meeting the goal of having the bill signed into law before president's day.
COURIC: AND WHEN ASKED IF SHE HAD BEEN TOO PARTISAN DURING THE PROCESS, THE SPEAKER DEFENDED THE HOUSE VERSION OF THE STIMULUS PACKAGE THAT PASSED WITHOUT ONE REPUBLICAN VOTE.
PELOSI: We had an election and it was about a direction for our country. We have strong philosophical difference in the congress. This isn't inner party bickering, this is major difference of opinion on philosophy, on how our country should go forward. We reject the failed Bush administration economic policies which got us where we are today, the proposals that the Republicans put forth were more of the same, we will not go back.
Comments
There's still plenty of time for the House to sabotage with reinserting their spending that got cut or for the three GOP moderates to get swayed by conservative threats and pull out. Not done yet...
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | February 11, 2009 6:57 PM
Like everyone else, I'm waiting for the details. But from what I've heard so far, this seems to be a remarkable triumph for the new president.
A month ago, Obama economists Romer and Bernstein released job-creation projections that "assumed a package just slightly over the $775 billion currently under discussion." Lo and behold, the final bill comes in at $789 billion. It reportedly includes Obama's proposed tax cuts, comprising almost exactly the same proportion of the overall package. For the past month, media attention has focused on all the changes to the package, and on the controversies it has engendered. Obama has been criticized for failing to forge a bipartisan consensus, for not safeguarding his priorities, and for not taking a sufficiently aggressive role in the negotiations on the Hill. So it's worth stepping back to take note of the fact that the final package looks remarkably like what Obama has wanted all along. In fact, it's closer to that original proposal than to either the House or Senate versions of the bill. Remarkable.
Whether or not it's the right package is a whole separate topic. But as a legislative achievement, coming so early in the term, this is astonishing.
The Republicans on the other hand are incompetent are going to become extinct if they don't start reigning in some of their more insane members. Republicans are also masterful at the Machiavelllian dimension of politics. In fact, they perform that function much better as the minority party. Much better than having to actual govern themselves, where they show near-total incompetence. Joseph Goebbles would be proud of the current 2009 crew of Republicans.
Posted by: Herbert Hoover = 2009 Republican Party Hero | February 11, 2009 7:11 PM
Come on 2010 !!!
These clown Repuglicans are just making themselves even more irrelevant. So, for that matter, are the GOPer operatives who call themselves "Blue Dogs". The whole crew is single-mindedly rushing towards fringe-element obscurity.
I don't know how it would be possible to prove more conclusively that the Repuglicans care nothing whatseover for the People.
Posted by: Hulk Smash! | February 11, 2009 7:18 PM
California and other states are on the verge of bankruptcy or even insolvency, but the liberal state assembly still insists taxpayers must support millions of illegal aliens.
WE THE PEOPLE MUST DEMAND E-Verify stays in the Stimulus package. It could save--SAVE--American taxpayers Hundreds of billions of dollars in social services.
Construction of the border fence by itself, will never be the ultimate deterrent from stopping illegal alien crossing into our sovereign nation. It must start with paramount inescapable issue itself? Which is the predatory employers who exploit this illegal workforce. Until we mandate the E-verify system of verification of those individuals who have a right to work and denying work to those here without federal authority The onslaught of poverty stricken escapees from foreign nations will be perpetual and be a continue drain of billions of dollars on taxpayers.
Baucus, Inouye, Reid, powerful Senators is trying to KILL the provision in the Stimulus bill that safeguards AMERICAN JOBS. HE is the leader to slaughter this law in the Senate to remove the E-Verify Law that removes illegal aliens from the workplace
ISN'T THIS STIMULUS BILL SUPPOSED TO GENERATE WORK FOR AMERICANS, NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO BROKE OUR LAWS?
Bombard pro-illegal alien, anti-American sovereignty corrupt politicians with your angry faxes and calls
Baucus Office, Washington D.C.
(202) 224-2651(Office)
(202) 224-9412 (Fax)
Washington Switchboard at 202-224-3121. for your Senator or Congressman.
Posted by: Brittancus | February 11, 2009 7:22 PM
Good deal. Democacy in action. Well, mostly Democrats in action, but good enough.
Posted by: Flo | February 11, 2009 7:24 PM
Pelosi is the dumbest twit around.
.
About the spendulus package:
.
1) How is success measured? How will we know that the stimulus has worked? Is it 3-4 million jobs created? 2 consecutive quarters of positive GDP?
.
2) Once success is measured, can the remaining portion of the spendulus bill be cancelled since the economy will have been judged to be back on track?
.
This bill is the start of the Neo-Marxist take-over of our country. The era of big inefficient gov't is back with a vengence.
Posted by: Terry | February 11, 2009 7:56 PM
Republicans are likely to sulk, but they are still invited to play any time they want. And if they don't want to play? Irrelevance is over there to the Right...as this poll shows:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/114577/Stimulus-Support-Edges-Higher.aspx
It's very simple. The President kicked butt this week. Absolutely brilliant.
The Republicans had 2 weeks' worth of rope and hung themselves, but good.
Thank you, Rush Limbaugh!
95% of American workers got their OBAMA TAX CUT.
No wonder the Republicans are howling mad.
And the GOP voted against the tax cut.
Which leaves them with...NOTHING!
Posted by: Juan Hernando | February 11, 2009 8:04 PM
The Republicans in congress are digging a hole for themselves. When this economy revives late this year and employment starts to rise next year they will try to revise history. They will have to deal with the political force with a great deal of popularity and they will look foolish and out of touch.
You know they are in trouble when Inhofe is one of their intellectual leaders.
Posted by: Ron M | February 11, 2009 8:05 PM
Thanks to Republican Susan Collins there's going to be less oversight on how this is all spent.
.
"Yesterday, 20 members of the House, from both parties, yesterday sent a letter to House negotiators urging them to ensure that the [whistleblower] protections remained."
"But, according to a person following the bill closely, Collins used today's conference committee to drastically water down the measure, citing national security concerns as the reason for her opposition. In the end, the protections were so weakened that House negotiators balked, and the result was that the entire amendment was removed."
.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/source_collins_strips_stim_bill_of_whistleblower_p.php
.
So, when the Republicans start shouting "waste, fraud and abuse", which WILL occur to some extent when you're spending nearly $800 billion, they can thank one of their own for stripping the very mechanism that might have curtailed it.
Although - The Bush Republicans were blatant about stealing anyone who wasn't in their "crowd's" (White and Very Wealthy) great, great grandchildren's future fortunes.
I still can't believe that these "conservatives" don't get humiliated and tomato's thrown at them when they cry about spending for JOB CREATION. I mean - Bush doubled (tripled) the debt and has created further military monsters both with the industrial complex money makers and cronies making a fortune off the back of the poor and middle class workers.
Posted by: Darla Kyler | February 11, 2009 8:18 PM
New solicitor general nominee: "Yes we can hold enemy combatants indefinitely without trial." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-solicitor-general11-2009feb11,0,7158432.story
You swampers keep the fluffing up. We'll break the news stories about the broken promises.
Posted by: Jeff | February 11, 2009 9:17 PM
You swampers keep the fluffing up. We'll break the news stories about the broken promises.
Posted by: Jeff | February 11, 2009 9:17 PM
..
Jeffy, shouldn't you be off in corner somewhere crying about how your hero Grampy McCain got his butt handed to him by the American people on Nov 08?
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVmYcswXTcE
.
Posted by: Allardice | February 11, 2009 9:30 PM
Broken promises, Jeffy? I don't think anyone ever promised to not follow the law.
But thanks for the update.
Oh, and speaking of promises, the stimulus looks like a done deal.
Posted by: Flo | February 11, 2009 9:43 PM
Betting against the American economy is always a bad bet and the Rethuglicans have basically bet their entire existence on America failing.
Posted by: Hey Joe | February 11, 2009 11:00 PM
I don't know how much passing this will help. Economies go through cycles. I read this interesting article on
http://www.recessioninfocenter.com
on previous recessions. We just need to adjust I guess.
Posted by: Jeff | February 12, 2009 1:27 AM
If Pelosi's unhappy, it gives me some reason for hope then, lol.
This foolish Keynsian economic policy was comprehensively discredited a long, long time ago.
The reality that Obama needs to recognize is that the New Deal was a financial disaster- actually far worse than the market downturn that lead to it. He needs to stop basing his policies on dumbed-down civics-text versions of events and consider economic logic.
And the president has decided to demonize private enterprise, just as FDR did, as a way to present government as the great savior… so typical of socialists with no business or executive managerial experience.
You cannot make a country rich by looting taxpayers, then paying people to pour cement and pick up trash. These activities amount to capital consumption- and are not sources of productive investment. One can say that they are either useless or needed tasks, but it is not a matter of ideology as to whether such public projects will make us all wealthier... they WILL NOT. - Do enough of this nonsense, distorting incentives and crippling the guiding hand of the market, and you can destroy the livelihoods of an entire generation-
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
Posted by: Reaganite Republican | February 12, 2009 6:29 AM
Since the Messiah, the dumb twit (Pelosi), and the crooked land dealer (Reid) have now saved the economy - how many of you flatliner libs are putting money into the market?
Posted by: Terry | February 12, 2009 6:49 AM
What astonishes me is that these people are supposed to be Americans yet they hope the president and the congress fails. The Republican governors want the spending bill including their poster girl, Sarah Palin, as well as the Democratic governors. I think that those who wish failure on this administration are traitors and I hope they rethink what they are wishing for...they just may get it! United we stand divided we fall.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | February 12, 2009 6:58 AM
Obam is correct in praising the bill. will help pay off his suporters.
Posted by: Inky | February 12, 2009 7:07 AM
Jeff, do you have a financial interest in that website? You've posted it 8 times now.
Posted by: Flo | February 12, 2009 8:09 AM
Relief to working people?
I think not.
Few if any of them are going to be buying houses, so forget the $7000 tax credit.
A few bucks off the FICA deduction isn't going to help the millions laid off, is it , now?
If Congress really wanted to help working folk it would amend the Bankruptcy code and restore the "cram down" power to restate terms of mortgages.
Also repeal all the restrictions Replicans put into the Bankruptcy Code to hurt working people, make it harder for them to get out from under 26% credit card interest.
Keep it up, Nancy & Harry. Insulting the intelligence of working folk.
You are already regarded as clowns or worse for letting the Wall Streeters get away with the first $350 billion.
Posted by: ornery | February 12, 2009 8:19 AM