CQ Politics
Published: 02-03-09
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged inclusion of more tax cuts and housing relief in the economic stimulus bill as the Senate prepared to open debate on the huge package Monday.
“We’re trying to reform it reformulate it put it in a different place” said McConnell R-Ky. adding that Republicans were not trying to prevent the bill from passing.
McConnell’s comments came as senators prepared for a weeklong debate on the bill. Dozens of amendments are expected from senators in both parties but Majority Leader Harry Reid D-Nev. wants passage of the legislation by week’s end.
That would give House-Senate negotiators one week to put together a final compromise version and get it passed again by both chambers. Democratic leaders have vowed to send a stimulus package to President Obama before the Presidents Day recess which is scheduled to begin at the end of next week. The leaders planned to meet Monday afternoon with Obama to discuss the stimulus.
“I hope he can get through to them that the way to build this package is indeed to do it on a bipartisan basis which doesn’t mean just talking to us but including ideas that we think would work” McConnell said.
On Jan. 28 the House passed its $819 billion version of the bill without a single Republican vote. But Senate Democrats will need at least one GOP vote — and possibly more — to get the legislation through their chamber. That all but guarantees some outreach to GOP senators.
McConnell outlined several proposals that Republicans would like to see adopted including reducing income tax rates for the bottom two brackets and slashing mortgage rates to the 4 percent range.
Sen. Susan Collins R-Maine said Monday she was working with Sen. Ben Nelson D-Neb. on amendments that would pare the spending in bill reducing the overall package to something around $650 billion. Collins and Nelson want delete parts of the bill that would not immediately create jobs.
“I think that there is a lot of disquiet and unease about the House-passed bill on both sides of the aisle” not just among Republicans Collins said.
