Obama, Visiting G.O.P. Lawmakers, Is Open to Some Compromise on Stimulus

WASHINGTON — President Obama made a campaign trip of sorts on Tuesday to seek bipartisan support for his economic stimulus plan, visiting Republicans on Capitol Hill and suggesting that he was open to some limited revisions that would address their demands for more tax cuts.In a session with House Republicans, Mr. Obama said he would not compromise on a central element of his plan that has drawn particular Republican opposition: his campaign promise for a middle-class tax credit that would also go to low-wage workers who earn too little to pay income taxes but are subject to payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare. Most Republicans oppose granting such credits to people who do not pay federal income taxes, saying they then amount to a welfare payment.But, Republicans interviewed after the meeting said, Mr. Obama told them he would listen to proposals to expand on provisions cutting taxes for small businesses and would be open to corporate tax cuts as well if Republicans cooperated to close tax loopholes for big business.Democrats said Mr. Obama could also support a demand from a senior Senate Republican, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, to add a provision adjusting the alternative minimum tax so that it does not hit millions of middle-class taxpayers this year. That would add costs of nearly $70 billion over 10 years to a package that Republicans already say is too big.Several hours after Mr. Obama’s visit to the Capitol, the Senate Finance Committee approved Mr. Grassley’s proposal as an amendment to the emerging Senate economic recovery plan. The full Senate is expected to take up a stimulus bill next week, following the expected passage of the $825 billion House version on Wednesday.The White House encouraged other gestures as well. As the House version of the legislation came to the floor on Tuesday, Democrats stripped from it a provision that Republicans had ridiculed as having nothing to do with economic stimulus, one expanding federal Medicaid coverage of family planning services. (The Congressional Budget Office had estimated that the provision would actually save the government $200 million over five years by reducing pregnancy and postnatal-care expenses.)Trying to forestall other Republican attacks, Democrats also stripped out $200 million for restoring the National Mall, another provision that the minority had mocked.Both parties expect a vote largely along party lines in the House on Wednesday. They say the degree to which the legislation can win any real bipartisan support will depend on what happens in the Senate, where the measure could be altered to attract at least some moderate Republicans. SOURCE:NYT.COM