Congress cautious over US economic package

Published on Saturday 3 January 2009 19:21

PRESIDENT-elect Barack Obama yesterday urged congressional leaders to move quickly on an economic recovery plan, even as some Republicans said they wanted more time to review the details.

Obama said Congress should pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan designed to create three million jobs. The Democratic President-elect hasn't announced a final price tag for it, but aides said the cost could be as high as $775bn.

"For too many families, this new year brings new unease and uncertainty as bills pile up, debts continue to mount and parents worry that their children won't have the same opportunities they had," Obama said in an address aired on radio and posted on YouTube yesterday.

The American economy remains the top challenge facing Obama when he takes office on January 20. The Federal Reserve estimated that lenders were on track to initiate 2.25 million foreclosures this year, more than doubling the annual pace before the crisis set in. One in 10 US homeowners is delinquent on mortgage payments or in foreclosure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also a Democrat, are to receive details tomorrow. Obama plans meetings this week with other congressional leaders, including Republican members whose support he will need, and made an effort not to blame his predecessor.

"However we got here, the problems we face today are not Democratic problems or Republican problems," Obama said. "The dreams of putting a child through college, or staying in your home, or retiring with dignity and security know no boundaries of party or ideology… I am optimistic that if we come together to seek solutions that advance not the interests of any party, or the agenda of any one group, but the aspirations of all Americans, then we will meet the challenges of our time just as previous generations have met the challenges of theirs."

His aides had hoped to have an economic plan approved by the House and Senate before Obama took office. That timeline, though, now appears unlikely as time is running out and Republicans have urged a delay to review the plans. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republicans' top official, said: "Every dollar needs to be spent wisely and not wasted in the rush to get it spent."

A large portion of the measure will go toward infrastructure projects, blending old-fashioned bricks and mortar programmes such as road and bridge repairs and water projects with new programmes such as research and development on energy efficiency and an expensive rebuilding of the information technology system for healthcare.