WASHINGTON - Trying to build support for his $825 billion economic stimulus plan before a crucial vote, President Barack Obama traveled to Capitol Hill yesterday but continued to meet a stubborn wall of complaints from Republicans that the cost of the package is unacceptable.
While Republicans praised Obama for listening to their concerns, many said afterward that they will not support the proposal.
With the House set to vote on the proposal today, there seemed little chance that the Republicans, who hold almost no power in the chamber, could have a material impact on the package before it heads to the Senate.
Asked whether the session with Obama had swayed votes, Florida Republican Rep. Bill C.W. Young said, "I doubt that."
"This package has his brand on it, and I don't think he's prepared to change much," Young said.
"I don't think too many Republicans are going to vote for this stimulus package, because most of us don't believe it will work," said California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes after emerging from the early-afternoon meeting with the president.
Still, Obama appeared to be trying to pressure Republicans to get on board. "The main message I have is that the statistics every day underscore the urgency of the economic situation. The American people expect action," the president said between his House and Senate meetings.
"There are some legitimate philosophical differences with parts of my plan that the Republicans have, and I respect that," Obama said. "I don't expect 100 percent agreement from my Republican colleagues, but I do hope that we can all put politics aside and do the American people's business right now."
But even as Obama made the rounds on the Hill, waves of energized Republicans hit the cable airwaves and rolled out news releases condemning the economic plan. They argued that the package contains too much government spending on infrastructure and other projects, and not enough in tax cuts.
And despite Obama's attempts at outreach, they bitterly complained that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, had locked them out of the legislative process.
"Unfortunately, the bill House Democrats are bringing to the floor this week was not developed under any spirit of bipartisanship, and we see the result: an $825 billion omnibus spending package that will do more to satisfy a spending agenda than create jobs in America," said Republican Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina.
