Obama's bipartisan hopes for stimulus plan fade

[denem]

Source: LA Times

His economic stimulus package is expected to pass, but with party differences apparently irreconcilable, it is unlikely to win the 80-vote Senate majority he envisions.

January 15, 2009. Reporting from Washington -- President-elect Barack Obama's hopes of scoring significant bipartisan support for his stimulus package are fading, as the debate over the nearly $800-billion plan morphs into a classic Washington impasse: two rival parties in irreconcilable conflict.

Obama had hoped to induce Republicans to back his plan by putting forward a series of business tax cuts. But GOP support is peeling off as the party crafts alternative ideas that rely even more heavily on tax reductions.

House Republican leaders have set up a working group to draft their own stimulus proposal focusing on permanent, across-the-board tax relief. And the Republican Study Committee, a group of about 100 conservative House Republicans, unveiled a bill Wednesday that contains a series of tax cuts, including reducing all personal income tax rates by 5% and cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%.



Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la...

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Pelosi stated that the tax cuts share in the Democratic bill is being reduced from 40% to 33%. Total projected expenditure is around $850 billion. The $3000 tax credit for new hires has been axed.