Given the federal government's financial situation, I find this quote from Cicero in 63 B.C. to be quite appropriate:
"The budget should be balanced, and the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest we become bankrupt."
He was right on the money, and I feel that every member of our government should have a copy of this framed and hung in his office - and if he fails to act accordingly he should be made accountable and sent to federal prison. This situation must change, or Cicero's observation will surely come true.
Paul N. Kelly Sr.
Philadelphia, Pa.
published Jan. 16, 2009
Philadelphia Daily News
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House Republicans urged to oppose stimulus bill
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON – House Republican leaders are urging their rank and file to oppose the economic stimulus bill heading for a vote on Wednesday, delivering their appeal hours before President Obama heads to the Capitol to seek bipartisan support.
Two officials say the top House Republican leaders — Rep. John Boehner and Eric Cantor — made the request.
In a gesture of bipartisanship, Obama on Monday urged Democrats to delete money from the bill for family planning funds for the low-income.
The House bill includes about $825 billion in tax cuts and spending. Republicans say much of the spending is wasteful and will not stimulate the economy.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is making good on his promise to hear from Republicans as he pushes for swift passage and bipartisan backing of his massive $825 billion plan intended to jolt the country out of recession.
The unanswered question: Whether the new Democratic president will actually listen to GOP concerns about the amount of spending and the tax approach — and modify his proposal accordingly.
With the economy worsening, Obama was making his first trip to Capitol Hill since his swearing-in last week for two private afternoon sessions Tuesday with House and Senate Republicans. A former Republican congressman who is a member of Obama's Cabinet, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was accompanying the president.
"The goal is to seek their input. He wants to hear their ideas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. "If there are good ideas — and I think he assumes there will be — we will look at those ideas."
"I think the president is genuinely serious about this," Gibbs added.
The presidential spokesman would not, however, reveal what concessions Obama may be willing to make, if any, to demonstrate his seriousness about securing Republican support. Gibbs, however, noted that there already are tax provisions in the measure, mostly small business cuts, that are direct GOP suggestions to Obama and his economic team.
"We don't have pride of authorship. We understand that this is a process of give and take to produce what the president believes is the strongest plan to get the economy going again," Gibbs said.
In a sign that Obama may be willing to compromise, officials said the president made a personal appeal to House Democrats to jettison from the package family planning funds for low-income people. Republicans have criticized the provision as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy. A decision on the provision was expected Tuesday.
Ahead of the meetings, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell blamed Democrats for holding up progress on the bill.
"We're anxious to help him," the Kentucky Republican said of Obama. "Frankly, the biggest problem is with his own party, the Democratic Party, which seems to be drifting away from what he said he wanted, which is a package that is at least 40 percent tax cuts and earmark free."
"We think the country needs a stimulus," McConnell said on NBC's "Today" show. But he also said that he believes most people do not believe it will be accomplished through projects like "fixing up the mall."
Under the Obama team's watchful eye, the Democratic-controlled House and the Senate are in the midst of modifying the package that melds new government spending with a series of tax cuts. It seems to grow with every turn as it wends its way through Congress, and it's likely to be the largest single piece of legislation ever, once it ends up on Obama's desk. He wants it ready to sign by mid-February.
As Senate committees prepared to take up the measure and the full House got ready to vote on it this week, the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis that found that Obama's plan would flow into the economy a little more slowly than he predicted.
At this point, two-thirds of the package consists of new spending on everything from unemployment aid to construction projects while the rest is tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. Republicans are griping that the price tag is too high because of nonessential spending and that the tax provisions are flawed.
Obama's meetings come as the Federal Reserve examines unconventional ways to lift the economy, and one day after several companies, including Sprint Nextel Corp., Home Depot Inc., and General Motors Corp., announced sweeping job cuts as they seek to remain solvent in an economic environment that worsens by the day amid turmoil in the financial, housing and credit sectors.
Given the gravity of the economic situation, the stimulus measure is widely expected to pass Congress with bipartisan support. The question is just how many Republicans will side with majority Democrats to pass it; House GOP leader John Boehner has said he couldn't support the measure in its current form and McConnell has been noncommittal.
Footnote: Editorial Cartoon by Tony Auth