JACKI LYDEN, host:
From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Jacki Lyden. President Obama and his advisers worked through the weekend trying to convince lawmakers to support his economic stimulus plan. The president wants to see the $825 billion package on his desk by the middle of next month, but the proposal faces a rocky ride on Capitol Hill. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.
ALLISON KEYES: The Obama administration continued its PR blitz touting the stimulus package today, with top adviser Lawrence Summers ticking off positives about the recovery plan in an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." First, he said, President Obama's proposal had bipartisan input from Democrats and Republicans.
(Soundbite of TV show "Meet the Press")
Mr. LAWRENCE SUMMERS (Director, National Economic Council): Frankly, some of them think the stimulus should be larger. Some of them think the stimulus should be smaller. The president balanced the different views.
KEYES: The $825 billion package focuses two-thirds on new government spending, and the rest on tax cuts. And Summers says the government could afford to spend the money to revive a faltering economy.
(Soundbite of TV show "Meet the Press")
Mr. SUMMERS: It's balanced between very substantial new investments that I referred to, between very important protections to prevent teachers and cops from being laid off. And also - this is a substantial part of the package - tax cuts.
KEYES: The tax cuts are a point of concern for both parties. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, told ABC's "This Week" that spending historically does more to stimulate the economy than tax cuts.
(Soundbite of TV show "This Week")
Representative NANCY PELOSI (Democrat, California; Speaker of the House): Economists have told us from right to left there is more bang for the buck - is the term they use - by investing in food stamps and in unemployment insurance than in any tax cuts. Nonetheless, we are committed to the tax cuts.
KEYES: And Republican Senator John McCain disagrees with the Obama administration's plan to allow tax cuts for the wealthy, passed under former President George W. Bush, to expire, telling "Fox News Sunday"...
Senator JOHN MCCAIN (Republican, Arizona): We need to make tax cuts permanent. We need to make a commitment that there will be no new taxes. We need to cut payroll taxes. We need to cut business taxes.
KEYES: McCain and House Republican Leader John Boehner say their party isn't likely to support the plan without major revisions. Boehner told "Meet the Press" he has issues with some of the spending contained in the bill.
Representative JOHN BOEHNER (Republican, Ohio): Two hundred million dollars to fix up the National Mall, $21 million for sod, over $200 million for contraceptives - how is this going to fix an ailing economy?
KEYES: Boehner says he cannot support the bill as it stands today.
Representative BOEHNER: Right now, given the concerns that we have over the size of this package and all of the spending in this package, we don't think it's going to work.
KEYES: President Obama will make the case himself when he visits Capitol Hill this week. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.