United States lawmakers have begun to consider whether the slowing US economy needs the Government's helping hand, but it is not clear what further steps, if any, the White House might be willing to consider.
When President George W. Bush declared that "all options" would be weighed to
counter a housing slump some fear will lead to recession, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill had already been thinking of ways to give the economy a lift.
Over the next month or so, if economic indicators worsen, lawmakers will be eager to jump on legislation to calm voters' jitters just months before presidential and congressional elections are held in November.
"There is no doubt that we are going to deal with an economic slowdown/recession and we need to do what is responsible," said Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who holds a high-ranking Democratic leadership job in the US House of Representatives.
Speaking to reporters last Thursday - two days after some lawmakers had berated Bush for declaring "This economy's pretty good" - Emanuel previewed Democrats' 2008 legislative priorities. Tax cuts and infrastructure investments were among the items he touched on, but offered no details.
After Bush's "all options" comment last Friday, the White House appeared to try to tamp down speculation the Administration would be pushing out a stimulus plan soon.
"All options are always on the table," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
A number of prominent economists, from former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers on the left to Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein on the right, have been warning of recession risks and urging the Government to give the economy a fiscal boost.
- REUTERS
