Congressional Democrats said Sunday that President-elect Barack Obama probably will have to wait until next month before getting the chance to sign an economic stimulus bill his team once hoped would be on his desk by his inauguration on Jan. 20. “It's going to be very difficult to get the package put together that early,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said. “But we certainly want to see this package passed through the House of Representatives no later than the end of this month, get it over to the Senate, and have it to the president before we break” in mid-February. Obama planned to meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday to talk about enacting a massive spending plan. The president-elect also scheduled a separate meeting with the entire Democratic and Republican leadership teams. Obama has not announced a final price for his plan to create, three million jobs but aides said the cost could be as high as $775 billion. Congressional aides briefed on the measure say it probably would blend tax cuts of $500 to $1,000 for middle-class individuals and couples with about $200 billion to help revenue-starved states with their Medicaid health insurance programs for the poor and other operating costs. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky warned Democrats against trying to move quickly without his party's input. “This is an enormous bill. It could be close to a $1 trillion spending bill,” McConnell said. “We've got to put aside a lot of the squabbling and come together under this new administration and new leadership,” Hoyer said they have only two criteria for passing an economic package. “Do it as quickly as possible, but do it right, and do it so the American people know what we're doing, do it so that members of Congress are confident of the action that we're taking,” Hoyer said. “So those are the two criteria _ do it as quickly as possible, but do it right. I think that time frame is hopefully certainly by the end of the month.” Hoyer spoke on “Fox News Sunday,” Reid appeared on NBC's “Meet the Press,” while Durbin and McConnell were on ABC's “This Week” on ABC.
