Boehner To Unveil Own Stimulus Plan

By Patrick O'Connor

(The Politico)  In a move to rebut Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Republican Leader John A. Boehner will lay out a set of economic principles he expects the majority party to include in a financial recovery package, an aide familiar said on Monday.

Boehner was reportedly going to call Congress back to session before the election, but that request will not be in the final draft of his letter, the aide confirmed.

The speaker and her Democratic colleagues in the House are scheduled to unveil the specifics of an estimated $150 billion package of increased federal spending to stimulate the economy. It would include money for road improvements, an extension of unemployment benefits, more spending for food stamps and financial aid to the states. The package could also include a second series of tax rebates, but that was still under debate as of Sunday.

Pelosi would like to call the House back to session after the election to approve the proposed measure, but a big question remains whether or not to offset the costs of this legislation with a windfall profits tax on oil companies - something the Democrats' presidential candidate, Barack Obama, favors.