Jan 10 2009
Obama On The Move - Can Congress Keep Up
Push back is what Obama is getting from his fellow Democrats on his proposed budget plan. It seems obvious that many Democrats are not in agreement with Obama’s business tax cut plans and are complaining that there is not enough money in the proposal for traditional infrastructure projects like road construction and water projects or for tax credits to promote renewable energy.
In his desire to just get the proposal through Congress as quickly as possible, Obama, showing his flexibility and willingness to compromise, is encouraging critics to just show him their ideas, put something on the table so that a decision can be made and the process can began.
Although Obama would have liked this proposal to go directly to the floor and be ready for his signature on the date of his inauguration, it seems that it will take a couple of weeks before this will happen.
Over 11 million Americans are out of work at this time and Obama is pressing Congress, with the need for urgency, in the passing of this proposal, citing the fact that
America is undergoing a devastating economic crisis that will get worse before it gets better and may become more difficult to contain with time.
With unemployment at a 16-year high, at 7.2 percent in December, this urgency is touching the lives of many Americans. However, as Congress pushes back with the need to amend the proposal, so too does the final resolution to the proposal move back in time. This push-back may delay the resolution to mid-February. Does the American public have that much time to correct the wrongs created by the recent Republican party?
While the Democrats are in consensus regarding the fact that the proposal simply needs a little tweaking, Obama has said that he welcomes any input from lawmakers in both parties, but the need to deliver the input is time sensitive.
Along with the mending of the economy, Obama has not included money for politicians’ earmarked projects and includes clauses that will allow transparency in his administration ensuring accountability to taxpayers and Congress by creating a oversight body to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent, a stipulation that was not put into effect during the recent bailouts in the financial sector.
All things told it appears that Obama is on the move and attempting to move in the directions promised during his campaign speeches. Time will tell how effective he is with Congress and how this “team” will function as a whole.
I, for one, will be watching closely.
Politics – Yours and Mine
