Obama: Stimulus delay 'inexcusable and irresponsible'

WASHINGTON -- President Obama ratcheted up the pressure on Congress, saying Friday it would be "inexcusable and irresponsible" to delay approval of his gigantic stimulus plan as a grim new unemployment report revealed the depths of the U.S. economic tailspin.

The nearly $1 trillion package is Obama's top legislative priority in his early presidency, its urgency highlighted by Friday's report. The package's passage, which could potentially come as early as Friday afternoon, would be a huge relief for the president, who has struggled to win the backing he sought from opposition Republicans.

The Labor Department reported that employers slashed payrolls by 598,000 in January, the most since the end of 1974, catapulting the unemployment rate to 7.6%. The rate is the highest since September 1992.

Obama said he hoped Congress members would react to "the single worst month of job loss in 35 years."

"These numbers demand action. It is inexcusable and irresponsible to get bogged down in distraction and delay while millions of Americans are being put out of work. It is time for Congress to act," Obama said.

Democratic and Republican moderates in the Senate were working to scale down the stimulus package in hopes of winning enough votes for passage. Its passage would cap a difficult week in which Obama saw some of his key appointments delayed or derailed because of tax problems.

Since his Jan. 20 inauguration, the president repeatedly has reached across the aisle to resistant Republicans as the stimulus plan has wound its way through the Democratic-controlled Congress. But even as he continued to make gestures of bipartisanship, he has sharpened his tone as he seeks to sell the pricey package to both the public and Republican lawmakers who want less spending and more tax cuts.

In a feisty late Thursday speech, he implored House Democrats to reject delaying tactics and political gamesmanship and keep a promise to voters who booted Republicans from power.

While the Democrats' majority in the House of Representatives allowed them to pass their $819 billion version of the stimulus package even though they won no Republican support, Senate passage had proved far more difficult. If the plan passes in the Senate, both versions would have to be reconciled and more changes could still come.