February 06, 2009 06:46 PM UTC

Udall, Bennet Talk Stimulus Goals

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• by: Colorado Pols

In general terms yesterday, as the Pueblo Chieftain reports:

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is getting his political baptism this week as he takes part in a bipartisan group of senators working to whittle down the $800-$900 billion stimulus package that President Barack Obama is calling for Congress to finish quickly.

Bennet, a Democrat, has joined with Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., in working behind closed doors with about 20 other senators in trying to trim some $100 billion out of the pending legislation in order to win more bipartisan support. That group is being led by Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Bennet, 44, came to the Senate from his previous job as superintendent of Denver schools. But he also has worked for the Anschutz Investment Co., in Denver, helping reorganize failing companies. Asked to evaluate the stimulus package in terms of job creation, Bennet said he was generally pleased.

“It mostly stacks up pretty well,” he said in a telephone conference Thursday, adding that some provisions could be left out for separate legislation. “I’ve spent my time here talking to economists and I can tell you that if Congress doesn’t pass the stimulus package, we’re going to be in even rougher shape than we’re in now. They are projecting our economy could lose $1 trillion this year and another $1 trillion next year.”

We’re not going to mince any words here: a lot of people are really nervous about this group of about 20 moderates from both parties, including Bennet and Udall, “scalpeling” the stimulus package. Looking at it from a local perspective, Udall and Bennet need to preserve (or increase) funds devoted to infrastructure and state fiscal stabilization, as local officials from Governor Ritter on down have made clear to both. All other priorities are secondary, in our view, for self-interested Colorado residents.

That said, we are willing to accept that that some changes to the bill will be necessary to pull in the few key moderate Republicans needed to ensure Senate passage. Some provisions for which the justification as economic stimulus-related is questionable can be dealt with in separate appropriations bills. This is critical for some on the ideological left to understand, particularly with regard to education and some other long-view spending in the stimulus bill. It’s important but it may need to come after, don’t freak!

To the extent the changes being made here can facilitate passage of the heart of the plan, denying moderate Republicans cheap sound-bite cover to oppose from, and quickly, Udall and Bennet could emerge as heroes. The AP updates today:

Despite their numbers, many Democrats, including newly elected freshmen such as Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Udall of Colorado, want to see less long-term spending and more items directly related to job creation.

And while polls show Obama is popular and the public supports recovery legislation, Republicans have maneuvered in the past several days to identify and ridicule relatively small items in the bill.

Bottom line: what Udall and Bennet are doing is not to be feared–and represents the best shot at defanging opposition to the crux of President Obama’s economic recovery plan, a plan the lopsided majority of Americans want passed without delay.