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House Democrats Entertain Idea Of Another 'Stimulus' Bill
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| House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has guardedly discussed the possibility of additional stimulus spending. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press) |
Stimulus Part II On Horizon?
By Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
As the ink finishes drying on the $787 billion spending plan President Barack Obama signed last month, discussions in Washington suggest more may be in store.
Mr. Obama signed the legislation to generate more economic activity to lift the nation out of recession, over the objections of critics who worried borrowing would only worsen matters. Now some Democrats and their advisers wonder whether the spending might actually amount to too little and have entertained the idea of another “economic stimulus” bill.
Democratic members of Congress listened yesterday to economists who said they easily foresee another stimulus act to supplement the already massive increase in government spending of borrowed dollars. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, has only guardedly discussed the possibility of additional stimulus spending.
“She said ‘Let’s give it time and see if this one works,’ ” Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said. “We need to have time to monitor how the recovery act is being carried out.” He described any concept of what an additional package might include as “premature to talk about right now.”
The earlier legislation, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), has already alarmed some economists because of the borrowing it has necessitated. J.D. Foster, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, said current levels of deficit spending should soon result in higher interest rates.
“The effects are immediate,” he said.
Other analysts say it’s better to err on the side of action rather than caution. Rebecca Blank, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution, said she believes the government has already undertaken substantial measures to generate economic activity, including ARRA, Federal Reserve policies and other national efforts. But she said she is open to the possibility that more should be done.
“I don’t think you can overreact right now, I think you can only under-react,” she said. “The only thing worse than doing this borrowing is not doing this borrowing.”
The center-left endorsement of massive deficit spending has marked a major turning point in Democratic-Party economic thinking. Toward the end of Bill Clinton’s administration and throughout George W. Bush’s administration, Democrats celebrated Mr. Clinton’s budget surpluses and lamented Mr. Bush’s deficits. But the principal Democratic economic policy in the Obama era so far has been to unreservedly pursue deficits.
“They were using the language of fiscal restraint while moving away from that point of view,” Dr. Foster said. “Now the Democrats are back to their more natural mode.”
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
Mr. Obama signed the legislation to generate more economic activity to lift the nation out of recession, over the objections of critics who worried borrowing would only worsen matters. Now some Democrats and their advisers wonder whether the spending might actually amount to too little and have entertained the idea of another “economic stimulus” bill.
Democratic members of Congress listened yesterday to economists who said they easily foresee another stimulus act to supplement the already massive increase in government spending of borrowed dollars. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, has only guardedly discussed the possibility of additional stimulus spending.
“She said ‘Let’s give it time and see if this one works,’ ” Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said. “We need to have time to monitor how the recovery act is being carried out.” He described any concept of what an additional package might include as “premature to talk about right now.”
The earlier legislation, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), has already alarmed some economists because of the borrowing it has necessitated. J.D. Foster, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, said current levels of deficit spending should soon result in higher interest rates.
“The effects are immediate,” he said.
Other analysts say it’s better to err on the side of action rather than caution. Rebecca Blank, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution, said she believes the government has already undertaken substantial measures to generate economic activity, including ARRA, Federal Reserve policies and other national efforts. But she said she is open to the possibility that more should be done.
“I don’t think you can overreact right now, I think you can only under-react,” she said. “The only thing worse than doing this borrowing is not doing this borrowing.”
The center-left endorsement of massive deficit spending has marked a major turning point in Democratic-Party economic thinking. Toward the end of Bill Clinton’s administration and throughout George W. Bush’s administration, Democrats celebrated Mr. Clinton’s budget surpluses and lamented Mr. Bush’s deficits. But the principal Democratic economic policy in the Obama era so far has been to unreservedly pursue deficits.
“They were using the language of fiscal restraint while moving away from that point of view,” Dr. Foster said. “Now the Democrats are back to their more natural mode.”
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
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