Published: January 02, 2009 07:28 pm      

McConnell seeks GOP role in stimulus plan

LOUISVILLE — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is preaching patience when the incoming Congress crafts a new stimulus plan meant to revive the nation’s stalled economy.

McConnell agreed government has a role in helping the economy, but cautioned against a fast-track plan that Democrats are hoping to have ready when President-elect Barack Obama takes office Jan. 20.

“They are talking about spending an enormous amount of money,” McConnell said this week in an interview with The Associated Press, days before the new Congress convenes next week. “We need to make sure this is well thought out, that there are in fact some hearings.”

Obama is proposing a package of as much as $775 billion over two years, according to his advisers, though they think add-ons by lawmakers could raise the price to $850 billion.

Debate on the stimulus package is expected to take center stage when Congress convenes.

Kentucky’s eight-member delegation will be intact from last year with one exception — Brett Guthrie will occupy the 2nd District seat held since 1994 by fellow Republican Ron Lewis, who did not seek another term.

McConnell won a fifth Senate term from Kentucky last year in a tough race against Democrat Bruce Lunsford.

McConnell, the top-ranking Republican in the Democrat-controlled Senate, has been pushing for a GOP role in shaping the stimulus package, which comes amid a faltering U.S. economy being dragged down by rising unemployment, sagging home values and shrinking consumer confidence.

“I don’t think it’s realistic to think that this can be done and on his desk by Jan. 20, nor should it,” McConnell said. “It needs to be thoroughly vetted.”

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, a Louisville Democrat, said Congress needs to take enough time to “get it right,” but said the severity of the downturn necessitates quick action.

“There’s certainly a pretty compelling case we need to move quickly,” Yarmuth said.

Yarmuth, who will take a seat on the influential House Ways and Means Committee in the upcoming Congress, said the stimulus should include public works projects and aid for cash-strapped states.

McConnell, who as Senate minority leader will play an important role in fashioning the package, said allowing for hearings and broader input wouldn’t add much time to the process.

McConnell said the stimulus plan should be judged by whether it creates jobs and expands the economy, or simply results in more government spending and deeper deficits.

“This should not be treated as an appropriation bill, but something more broadly stimulative,” he said.

Yarmuth said Republican input should be welcomed, but added: “It’s not just talking about participating. It’s being a constructive participant and not an obstructive participant.”

On another topic, McConnell said he hasn’t decided whether to support releasing the second installment from the $700 billion financial rescue program also known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

“What the new administration says it wants to do with the TARP will have a lot to do with how I decide to vote,” McConnell said in the phone interview.

Under the law governing the program, the administration must ask Congress for the second half of the funds and Congress can vote to block their release. McConnell supported the rescue plan in the midst of his tough re-election campaign last year, saying at the time it offered a way to get credit flowing again.

McConnell said this week that the rescue plan has been “at least partially successful,” but acknowledged “lending is still a problem.”

Yarmuth, who voted for the financial rescue plan that ultimately passed Congress, said before he votes to free up another $350 billion, he wants strict guidelines and oversight standards. Yarmuth said he also wants guarantees that the money will flow through the economy to help people buy homes and cars.

“It’s hard to see there has been a great impact from the way the Treasury has used that money,” he said.

Meanwhile, McConnell called for bold congressional action to shore up Social Security and Medicare in the face of serious financial strains with the pending retirement of tens of millions of baby boomers. McConnell said he’ll urge Obama to work with Congress to tackle looming problems for both programs.

“Those are two mega-issues that can cripple this country for future generations,” McConnell said. “And they are heavy lifting politically and require bipartisan buy-in.”

Yarmuth has his own goals: that Congress will expand health care coverage and revamp regulation of the financial industry. The 3rd District congressman said his colleagues should think big.

“Bold measures are demanded by the times,” he said.