Second Stimulus Package Update

Posted In: 2008 Election, Congress, Economy, Political Parties, Politicians, President Bush, Stimulus Package, Taxes, U.S. Government

Seems like there’s been a lot of interest lately in a second stimulus package to get the U.S. economy back on its feet. On July 15, I talked about how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with several economists and announced afterwards that:

We will be proceeding with another stimulus package.

On July 22, Reuters reported:

The U.S. Congress is discussing a second economic stimulus bill that could include nearly $15 billion in infrastructure spending, a senior member of the House of Representatives told Reuters on Tuesday.

Rep. James Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat who chairs the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said a stimulus package could include “accelerating” pay-outs of $9.5 billion from the federal trust fund dedicated to road construction and maintenance…

The money would go to funding more than 2,600 projects, he said. States would receive full federal funding and then have a few years to pay back any matching funds.

Richard Cowan, John Crawley, and Lisa Lambert noted:

Congressional aides have discussed infrastructure elements to the plan, but have not provided cost estimates or other details. The timing of any second stimulus bill remains up in the air.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday postponed consideration of its version of a second stimulus plan until September, said Robert Byrd, the panel’s chairman and a West Virginia Democrat.

President George W. Bush has indicated he wants to see how effective the first stimulus package is before looking at another one.

The idea of a second stimulus package hasn’t been lost on U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to the Star Tribune of Minneapolis-St. Paul yesterday:

Back from a nine-day overseas trip, Sen. Barack Obama made a point of turning to domestic concerns, calling a meeting Monday to solicit advice on reviving the economy and lifting wages.

Obama’s 2 1/2-hour economic forum, which was closed to the media, included some of the top economic policymakers of recent Democratic and Republican administrations. Among them were Robert Rubin and Paul O’Neill, Treasury secretaries in the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett took part by phone.

Obama said the economy needs short- and long-term fixes, including another “stimulus” from Congress…

The group agreed with Obama’s call for a second stimulus plan, although there was some debate about the size.

Obama wants to inject another $50 billion into the economy. Laura Tyson, who headed Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers, said, “There were people in the room who felt it should be more.”

Sources:

“Infrastructure could spur new stimulus: Rep”
Richard Cowan, John Crawley, and Lisa Lambert
Reuters, July 22, 2008

“Obama gains support from economic team for a second economic stimulus plan”
Star Tribune, July 29, 2008

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