PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT ON ECONOMIC GROWTH PACKAGE

President Bush Announces Agreement On Bipartisan Economic Growth Package.  "House leaders and the Bush administration reached agreement yesterday on a $150 billion economic stimulus package that would quickly send hundreds of dollars to poor and middle-class workers while offering businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment. … 'This package has the right set of policies and is the right size,' Bush said in the White House briefing room. In particular, he expressed satisfaction that it was built entirely on tax breaks. … Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said the first checks and electronic payments could begin flowing 'within roughly 60 days' of Bush signing a package into law, with most of the payments in workers' pockets within 10 weeks of the first payouts. Even the accelerated timetable he outlined would not put money in people's hands until May. … Paulson, however, cautioned against slowing down the process: 'The American people are not going to have a lot of patience for taking time.'"  (Jonathan Weisman and Peter Baker, "Bush, House Hammer Out $150 Billion Stimulus Bill," The Washington Post, 1/25/08)

President Bush Says Economic Growth Agreement "Should Help Us Through This Period Of Uncertainty."  "President Bush said Thursday that a $150 billion stimulus package of individual rebates and business tax cuts, swiftly negotiated between the White House and Congress, should provide 'an insurance policy' to keep an unsettled economy from tipping into recession.  'I do have confidence in the economy now … and I think a lot of the people who analyze the economy have confidence that this economy is going to continue to grow,' the president said in an interview with USA TODAY. 'The issue is the uncertainty of the moment. One thing is for certain – that the (Federal Reserve), independent of the administration, and the administration and the Congress have both reacted very quickly and (in) substantial ways.'  'That should help us through this period of uncertainty,' he said. … [T]he bill was a rare example of bipartisan cooperation, and Bush said, 'We hope the Senate would accept the package as written.'"  (Susan Page and Richard Wolf, "Bush: Stimulus Provides 'Insurance Policy'," USA Today, 1/25/08) 

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