Obama tells House GOP

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President Obama said Tuesday he understands the concerns of House Republicans but the massive economic recovery package he has proposed is aimed at getting the country out of the ditch it's in and on the right track.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill after meeting with the House GOP caucus, Obama said he is "absolutely confident" that compromises can be reached, "but the key right now is to make sure we keep politics to a minimum."

"There is some legitimate philosophical differences with parts of my plans that the Republicans have, and I respect that. In some cases, they just may not be as familiar with what is in the package as I would like. I don't expect 100 percent agreement but I do hope that we can all put politics aside and do the American people's business right now," he said.

Obama said the "statistics every day underscore the urgency of the situation." He said Americans want to go back to work, gain energy independence, better schools and stronger infrastructure and they want all of it done "wisely so that we're not wasting taxpayer money."

Obama added his proposal is "just one leg in a multi-legged stool." He also wants Congress and his administration to develop tighter regulations, more controls on the release of money to help shore up financial institutions and greater coordination with other countries.

Obama was on his way to meet with Republican senators as House Republicans said they appreciated the discussion but still differed on spending priorities. Several GOP leaders said they gave Obama a message about the massive economic stimulus package making its way through Congress -- listen to our suggestions and use them, but they added they were encouraged by the discussion.

"The door of our conference will stay open to this president," said GOP Conference Chairman Mike Pence.

Of chief concern to Republican leaders, however, is the amount of spending and the tax approach outlined in the proposal being considered by lawmakers this week. Many Republicans remain skeptical of provisions they say don't match the talk about job creation.

"We have concerns that the plan that House Democrats are going to bring to the floor will not work," said House Minority Leader John Boehner before the meeting. "And at the end of the day, our big move today will be to ask the president to help us. Help us make this plan better so that it will put Americans back to work."

Boehner said afterward that he thought many in the conference and the president himself "enjoyed the conversation."

Louisiana Sen. David Vitter said before the meeting that he plans to tell Obama that he likes the approach that he's offered, but doesn't see that being followed on Capitol Hill.

"What I am going to say is, 'Mr. President, I like the test you've set, which is what works, what actually creates jobs quickly, what can pick the economy up. The problem is neither the House nor the Senate bill being worked on now meets that test. In fact, they don't come close to meeting that test,'" he said.

"It's line after line after line of favorite liberal spending programs and it amounts to a big government bill not a job creation," Vitter told FOX News.

But Republicans did not offer any of their own changes to the Senate package that was voted out of the Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning on a largely party line vote of 21-9.

All the Democrats on the panel approved the bill while 9 Republicans voted against it.

Of the 4 Republicans who voted for the nearly $830 billion package, three -- Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Kit Bond of Missouri -- made it clear they were just voting to move the process along, reserving the right to oppose the bill in the end on the floor.

On the House side, Republicans rallied the rank-and-file to oppose the measure that they say includes too much spending and not enough tax incentives. Several pointed to examples of $4 billion for community development groups and millions more for the National Endowment of the Arts. Their alternative legislation calls for an extension of unemployment benefits, but otherwise consists exclusively of tax cuts.

The version sent to the Senate calls for about $190 in assistance like Medicaid to the states and an extension of unemployment benefits; about $365 billion for infrastructure and science; and $275 billion in tax provisions. The Senate may also add a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax, which hits middle class taxpayers hardest. That would cost $70 billion or so in 2009, which would bring the total package to about $900 billion.

According to the Congressional Budget Office about $608 billion, or 73 percent of the $830 billion, would be spent in 2009 and 2010. The quicker the money gets spent, the more stimulative it is, say economists.

The Democratic version in the House, to be voted on Wednesday, calls for about 64 percent to be spent in the first two years. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she thinks Congress can get a bill to the president's desk by the President's Day recess next month.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris van Hollen said that lawmakers who say no to the recovery plan are going to have to explain to constituents "why at this critical point in our history ... why they didn't support the economy."

He added that Democrats have included net operating loss and energy tax provisions and suggested that Obama has worked overtime to get GOP support.

"So it's unfortunate that the signs that we are hearing indicate that Republicans aren't giving this as good a look as I would have hoped," he said.

Neither Republicans nor Obama have indicated where they may be willing to make changes to the legislation, but both sides have said they don't have any "pride of authorship" of the huge package.

In a sign that Obama may be willing to compromise, officials said the president made a personal appeal to House Democrats to jettison from the package family planning funds for low-income people. Republicans have criticized the provision as an example of wasteful spending that would neither create jobs nor otherwise improve the economy.

"He asked them to take it out he established a set of principles for spending to boost economic growth over the course of a two-year period and the contraceptive funding was not part of those principles," said Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton. Burton said the contraceptive funding issue had become a "lightning rod" and that without it the large bill had a better chance of winning bipartisan support.

Given the gravity of the economic situation, the stimulus measure is widely expected to pass Congress with bipartisan support. Still, some House Republican leaders insist they need changes before they can support it, and they aren't getting the sense of cooperation from Democrats.

"We have yet to see one Republican proposal included in this plan," said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington.

"Calls of bipartisanship is hollow with House Democrats," said Pence of Indiana.

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After giving that quote, I am sure Vitter may a "unscheduled" stop or two as he went home

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After giving that quote, I am sure Vitter may a "unscheduled" stop or two as he went home

What does Obama know about job creation? David Vitter's employed many "willing workers" as long as the come with a 34-26-38.

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Could part of the prblem be the 17 Billion that he is trying to give to Acorn and other fraudlant "community organizations"?