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Daschle's Blockage of Stimulus Bill Disappoints Bush NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON – With Congress adjourned for Christmas, President Bush on Friday expressed disappointment that lawmakers left without agreement on a stimulus package to spark the economy. "Well, we just have to see," Bush said. "We'll have to see what the effects are, and we'll have time when they come back to take a look-see at the state of the economy. "We continue to get mixed signals. Hopefully the economy will be good, but we'll deal with it when we get back." Bush spoke from the Oval Office after he and first Lady Laura Bush showed off the rug she designed that will grace the floor there. Bush said he tried to work with Democrats and Republicans, but for Congress "the will to get something done just wasn't there." Daschle Dictates Senate plurality leader Tom Daschle refused even to allow a vote on the bill Thursday. His failure to take action ended, for now, a contentious debate over whether tax relief or expanded worker benefits would have sparked the desperately needed economic recovery. Other legislative unfinished business included unconfirmed judges waiting to take their place on benches across the nation. "I thought it was important to get a good stimulus package out, as well as I thought it was very important to take care of displaced workers. And the bill that I supported and my administration helped craft with both Democrats and Republicans would have done just that," Bush said. The White House said it was unclear whether a stimulus package would be useful once Congress returns in late January. Private-sector forecasters predict the economy may rebound next year, but at a less robust rate without the help the stimulus bill would have provided, the White House said. The White House had aggressively courted moderate Democrats in the U.S. Senate in hopes they would prod Daschle, D-S.D., to bring the stimulus bill to a floor vote. GOP members noted that Daschle blocked movement of the bill to the Senate floor. A $100 billion version of the economic stimulus bill was approved in October by the U.S. House of Representatives and backed by the White House. But earlier this week the House ushered through a revised bill, which included more benefits for displaced workers, apparently the sticking point for Senate Democrats. Differences remained, however, with the White House supporting, among other things, a refundable tax credit to displaced workers that they could immediately use to buy health insurance benefits. Democrats were not satisfied with the tax credit and wanted instead provisions providing direct payments to workers and increased unemployment insurance benefits. The White House required 60 votes in the Senate to get its measure through but had far fewer than that. The remaining alternative was for it to garner support for compromise legislation, which never happened.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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