February 4, 2009 11:41 AM

Is The White House Quietly Fighting Stimulus Pork?

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Economy
(CBS)
In an interview yesterday with CBS News' Katie Couric, President Obama defended some of the spending in his stimulus package.

The bill now being debated in the Senate includes, as Couric noted, "$6.2 billion for home weatherization, $100 million for children to learn green construction, $50 million for port modernization water and wastewater infrastructure needs in Guam, $50 million for the NEA, the National Endowment for the Arts."

"Well, let's think about it," the president said, seizing on the weatherization example. "We're going to weatherize homes, that immediately puts people back to work and we're going to train people who are out of work, including young people, to do the weatherization. As a consequence of weatherization, our energy bills go down and we reduce our dependence on foreign oil. What would be a more effective stimulus package than that?"

While the president is backing the provisions publicly, however, behind closed doors the White House may be working to fight some of the spending in the bill that might be considered pork.

In an interview with Liberadio that was picked up by the Nashville Post, Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee said he was encouraged by the Obama administration to fight against some of the bill's more controversial provisions when it was in the House.

"I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I actually got some quiet encouragement from the Obama folks for what I'm doing," said Cooper, a relatively conservative "Blue Dog" Democrat who opposed the stimulus bill. "They know it's a messy bill and they wanted a clean bill."

Cooper added that he "got in terrible trouble with our leadership because they don't care what's in the bill, they just want it pass and they want it to be unanimous."

"We're just told how to vote," he continued. "We're treated like mushrooms most of the time."

The White House "want[s] to keep the Speaker happy and the traditional Democratic leaders, but they've let them know privately they're not interested in all this pork," he said.

Contacted by Politico, the White House press office and the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not immediately offer comment on Cooper's claims.

The Tom Daschle saga, which capped an embarrassing series of tax problems for the president's choices for key administration positions, took some of the focus off the growing criticism from conservative commentators and Republican lawmakers of some of the spending in the stimulus bill yesterday.

But the criticism is not going away; yesterday, Republicans released to news organizations a list of the bill's provisions that they consider wasteful, a list designed to spur outrage among ordinary Americans already frustrated with government spending over the past few months.

It's not hard to imagine, then, that the White House is quietly working to tamp down on some of the spending in the stimulus bill – particularly as it needs some Republican support to get through the Senate with the necessary 60 votes. While the president and Congressional Democrats may be offering a united front publicly, Cooper's comments suggest a different story behind closed doors.

Add a Comment See all 29 Comments
by statur February 6, 2009 8:58 PM EST

no pork.....JUST BULL
Reply to this comment
by capitalispig February 5, 2009 2:08 AM EST
Why dont we understand that the government doesnt CREATE jobs, they create deficit. My boss opened a business, and worked to make it successful enough to employ 200 people. Every single person I work with works very diligently and efficiently, and thats why we are so successful. HARD WORK!!!The harder you work the more the govt takes. You work overtime, the govt takes double, you work hard eough to earn a bonus, and the govt takes 1/3, even if your living below the poverty line like me. It is what it is, and that has gotten us this far, but why do we want to set ourselves back by punishing the ambitious even more and blaming THEM, the employers of hundreds of millions, for the GREED and manipulation of a very powerful few. When if it wasnt for the ambitious thousands our unemployment rate would be 90%. Taxing those who make more than 150K a year even more is going to eliminate ten times more jobs than infrastructure and condom promoting legislation could imagine producing. Why dont we realize that business men create jobs, and that govt already sucks them dry. Laissez Faire is what the markets are waiting for, and they are NEVER going to recover until that happens, because when the govt puts their dirty little fingers in the kool-aid it is impossible to predict what flavor it will be. The markets requires predictability, and the president thinks bankrupting this nation completely, while our enemies stack their money, is going to help. It makes as much sense as a football bat!!!!
Reply to this comment
by vincan-2009 February 5, 2009 12:56 AM EST
President Obama is not quietly working to cut everything that is not stimulus from the bill, he has told his people to get it out of there. President Obama wants to get the help out to the nation, and I believe he wants the bill to be as clean as possible.
Reply to this comment
by simplyput2 February 5, 2009 12:40 AM EST
Just one question in regards to BO''s first comment about weatherizing of homes. Who can afford to pay for that when most people are just trying to keep a roof over their heads?
Reply to this comment
by danielle_mom February 4, 2009 10:06 PM EST
He can fight it by using his first veto on the stimulus package. It will send a strong message to congresss that he does not fool around.
Reply to this comment
by solarrays247-2009 February 4, 2009 8:12 PM EST
ndeavor40, Mattcat25, j48151, nikosk11, and HillaryNow

Do you even know what is actually in this proposed legislation?
Have you taken the time to write or call your US Senator / US Representative and find out what they are going to do? What do they support? What problems do they see in the package?

Until you do this YOU are part of the problem and not doing squat to help resolve it. Pouring gas on a fire doesn''''t put it out nor does accusing someone of starting the fire solve the immediate crisis.

CALL or WRITE your elected officials or shut up an start reading more about the reality of the situation before you post more and more drivel on these boards.

Posted by gscotth at 03:12 PM : Feb 04, 2009


This is one of the best posts that I have read on CBS today!

And yes, gscotth, I called and emailed my senator and representative two days ago...they both got back to me...one is a democrat, and the other is a republican.
Reply to this comment
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Reply to this comment
by tmittelstaed February 4, 2009 7:35 PM EST
Corporate tax cuts never work to get out of a depression. Why? Because in a depression, corporations are declaring LOSSES and BUSINESSES DON''T PAY TAXES IF THEY DON''T HAVE ANY PROFITS. So, in that scenario a tax cut does NOTHING because they ALREADY AREN''T PAYING ANY TAXES. God, some people are stupid idiots!!!
Reply to this comment
by aceshigh333-2009 February 4, 2009 6:44 PM EST
This bill needs to be killed and start a new one. I agree with the buy American goods and services. The EU, china, ***, etc. can just get over it. You think they care about our jobs. It''s time to take care of our country.
Reply to this comment
by antoniof123 February 4, 2009 6:20 PM EST
Typical lib...spppeeeenddd

Posted by j48151 at 03:00 PM : Feb 04, 2009

Typical conservative:

BORROW AND SPEEEEEEEND EVEN MORE!!!!
Reply to this comment
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