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.

Because of Senate rules, a simple majority, which the Democrats hold, was not sufficient for passage of their plan because of rules in the upper chamber that require 60 out of 100 votes to overcome an opposition filibuster — a parliamentary delaying tactic that can effectively kill any piece of legislation.

The Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid expressed optimism about the bill and said progress has been made since Thursday night. Republican leader Mitch McConnell said his party was ready to support a bill, "but we will not support an aimless spending spree."

A group of nearly 20 moderates from both parties — more Democrats than Republicans — were huddling in hopes of cutting as much as $100 billion from Obama's plan, which ballooned to $937 billion on the Senate floor, with further add-ons possible during a long day of votes Friday.

Separately, Obama announced members of a team of advisers meant to be an economic sounding board that reports to him directly. Obama planned to use the Economic Recovery Advisory Board announcement as a way to address the millions of out-of-work Americans. He has already tapped Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman and a top Obama adviser, as the leader of his high-profile panel.

Its mission will include responding to requests from Obama — such as delving into a particular subject — without competing with the National Economic Council government agency or day-to-day decision-making at the White House.

Another of Obama's Cabinet nominee hit an obstacle Thursday — a Senate panel abruptly postponed a confirmation vote on Labor Secretary nominee Hilda Solis after revelations that her husband had some tax problems.

While tax problems have dogged several of Obama's nominees — the latest forcing former Sen. Tom Daschle to withdraw his nomination as health secretary — administration officials say they are not blaming Solis for her husband's actions.

Seeking to avoid distractions from his Cabinet choices, Obama has in recent days reminded the Republicans who is in charge now — and on whose watch the economy collapsed.

He has rejected arguments from Republican critics, saying tax cuts alone as a way to stimulate the economy are "a losing formula" and belittling those who call the stimulus a simple spending bill.

One minor victory for Obama came Wednesday night when the Senate softened — but would not remove — a "Buy American" protectionist measure that drew strong criticism from major U.S. trading partners including Japan, Australia and Canada.

The bill sent to the Senate by the House demanded that only U.S.-made iron and steel be used in infrastructure projects finance by the stimulus bill. The Senate added to the edict all manufactured products used in such projects.