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Washington PostPresident-elect Barack Obama today kicked off his campaign to win approval of his economic stimulus plan, launching a series of face-to-face meetings on Capitol Hill to sell a plan that will now likely include $300 billion in tax cuts and another $500 billion, or more, in spending.
Obama, after a vacation in Hawaii and a final weekend in Chicago, headed to the Capitol this morning, where he held an 11 a.m. sitdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Neither the president-elect or the speaker took questions before the meeting, but each made some brief remarks. "The reason we are here today is because the people can't wait. We have an extraordinary economic challenge ahead of us. We are expecting a sobering job report at the end of the week," Obama said at the start of the meeting, according to a pool report.
In the afternoon, Obama will convene a similar meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) before a large bipartisan gathering with Obama, Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, Pelosi, Reid and seven other congressional leaders inside the ornate Lyndon Baines Johnson Room off the floor of the Senate. The afternoon meeting, which will be attended by four congressional GOP leaders, marks Obama's first sitdown with key Republicans since winning the election two months ago.
Searching for Republican votes, Obama's aides indicated Sunday that the still emerging plan would include at least $300 billion in tax cuts, including a $500 individual tax credit and a host of business credits. That's an increase of about $100 billion in tax cuts from the estimates aides provided during pre-Christmas negotiations among Obama's advisers and House and Senate Democrats....
President-elect Obama meets with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on his stimulus plan, which is likely to include $300B in tax cuts. (Gerald Martineau/WP)
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