WASHINGTON - Launching an initiative that could be the cornerstone of Barack Obama's presidency, House Democrats unveiled yesterday an $825 billion spending and tax-cut plan to shore up the crippled economy he inherits on Inauguration Day.
The bill, which Democratic leaders hope to enact by mid-February, includes $550 billion for spending on infrastructure, science, energy and education programs over two years, and $275 billion for tax cuts for individuals and businesses.
Rep. David R. Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, called it "the largest effort by any legislative body on the planet to try to take government action to prevent economic catastrophe."
Meanwhile, two days after Obama personally lobbied for release of $350 billion in bailout funds, the Senate narrowly turned aside a bid to block the money.
Across the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat said, "Immediate job creation and then continuing job creation" were the twin goals of the separate stimulus legislation. It recommends tax cuts for businesses and individuals while pouring billions of dollars into areas such as health care, education, energy and highway construction.
She and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, have pledged to have the economic stimulus package ready for Obama's signature by mid-February.
Both houses debated Obama's call to release the second $350 billion from the financial bailout package, but the Senate vote was the triumph he had sought. Despite bipartisan anger over the Bush administration's handling of the bailout, Democratic allies of the incoming president prevailed on a 52-42 roll call.
The vote followed a commitment by Obama to use up to $100 billion of the funds to help homeowners facing foreclosure. The money will be available in less than two weeks
The $825 billion stimulus measure includes a smaller tax cut and more spending than Obama had proposed - a signal that Democrats in Congress are less inclined to offer an olive branch to Republicans who want the plan more weighted toward tax cuts. Some House Democrats complained in closed-door discussions that the bill still includes too much in tax cuts and too little in infrastructure spending.
Republicans suggested that the package includes items that are not effective stimulus measures.
