MICHELE NORRIS, host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Michele Norris. Congress returned to Washington today, and the marquee visitor was President-elect Barack Obama. Mr. Obama was all over the Hill today. He held face-to-face meetings with congressional leaders. They're trying to work out a giant economic stimulus package. The president-elect wants to sign it into law shortly after taking office. NPR's congressional correspondent, Andrea Seabrook, also spent the day on Capitol Hill.
ANDREA SEABROOK: Mr. Obama kicked off the year with no fewer than three photo-ops with various congressional leaders.
President-elect BARACK OBAMA: Hey, guys.
Unidentified Woman: Good morning.
President-elect OBAMA: How are you? Good to see you.
SEABROOK: Capitol Hill was a scurry with cameras and microphones and reporters cramming into tight little offices to catch the president-elect's words. He met first with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
President-elect OBAMA: Well, let me just say how thrilled I am to be sitting here with the speaker. Obviously the inauguration stand is being built in the background. But the reason we're here today is because the people's business can't wait.
SEABROOK: He called the times ahead an extraordinary economic challenge and said he's expecting another sobering job report at the end of the week. And so the first order of business for Congress, an economic stimulus package meant to rev up the economy. Speaker Pelosi said it's being put together now.
Representative NANCY PELOSI (Democrat, California; Speaker of the House): We pledged to work together in a bipartisan way with great civility, with great fiscal discipline, and I know the debate will be spirited. We welcome it.
SEABROOK: Speaker Pelosi is coordinating much of the negotiations over the package, and they're complex. Mr. Obama's economic advisers, his transition team, House and Senate leaders, and of course, the chairmen of several committees are hammering this thing out, and there is a lot of negotiation still to do. One important figure in all of this is Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen. He's opening up a new leadership office in the House dubbed "The Assistant to the Speaker." So he can give us a little peek into what this package will have in it.
Representative CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (Democrat, Maryland): The major components are actually coming into some definition now. I mean, you've got obviously a big infrastructure piece on the transportation side with roads and bridges and public transportation, including transit.
SEABROOK: That part could be as much as a hundred billion dollars.
Representative VAN HOLLEN: You got a major component of assistance to the states, primarily for health and education.
SEABROOK: Aides say that will be around $200 billion.
Representative VAN HOLLEN: There is going to be tax relief following through on Barack Obama's commitment on the campaign of providing middle-class tax relief, and then there will be some business tax incentives.
SEABROOK: This tax cut portion of the stimulus bill will likely cost the most money, up to $300 billion, according to leadership aides. What does this mean for you? Well, most working people are expected to get a $500 tax cut, a thousand for couples. Right now, negotiators are working out how much people can earn and still qualify for those cuts. There is also about a hundred billion dollars in business tax cuts. They're meant to spark new investment and to give companies an incentive to stop laying off workers and even hire new people. All of this together will push the entire package close to an $800 billion price tag, according to congressional leadership aides. That's even bigger than the already big numbers that were being thrown around before Christmas. So Capitol Hill today was like the first day of baseball season, and everything and everyone seemed to be signaling play ball. Andrea Seabrook, NPR News, the Capitol.