Republican Congressional leadership has responded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) statement that Democrats plan to move a fiscal stimulus package with furious objection to their own imagination. CongressDaily($) quoted House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) yesterday as saying "[Middle-class] anxieties [of the economy] will only be made worse by the higher taxes, irresponsible spending, and bigger government proposed by this Democratic Congress" while Ranking Budget Committee member Paul Ryan (R-WI) shuddered at the notion that "Democrats are banking on enormous tax increases."

While we reported in December that Congressional Democrats had caved to President Bush's top-line appropriations number (while still attempting to fund their priorities), some things were certainly underfunded. Case in point is the Argonne National Laboratory in Darien, IL. Darien Suburban Life newspaper reports on the cutback: Argonne Director Robert Rosner said in a memo to staff last week the cuts stem from unexpected reductions in Washington brought about by the Congressional budget appropriations bill passed in December. Argonne's news followed the announcement of similar cuts at Batavia-based Fermilab, which learned in late December it will have to lay off as many as 200 employees due to cuts. Director Rosner went on to say he thought the cutbacks would have a negative effect on morale at the lab, but that they would prevail. I'm not sure how they are going to do more scientific research with fewer people and resources, but perhaps Director Rosner has some tricks up his sleeve. I suspect similar cutbacks will happen at other national labs around the country, slowing the pace of scientific discovery and development of new technologies. Remember that the U.S. government has developed numerous things through scientific and technological research that have been extremely valuable to our society. Space blankets, penicillin, the internet, and velco are only a few examples. It's too bad our elected officials can't prioritize funding for these important investment.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced yesterday that Democrats are moving forward with an economic stimulus package. Although she remains vague about such a proposal, Pelosi indicated that it would be targeted to low- and middle-income individuals. A press release at her website says that the package will "assist hard-hit families by promoting consumer confidence, economic growth, and job creation" and will be designed to provide "economic security for those with the greatest economic hardships..."

The rhetoric coming out of the White House the past couple of days regarding a possible economic stimulus package is truly baffling. Speaking to Union League Club of Chicago yesterday, referring to "mixed" economic indicators, Bush said: [M]ost importantly the smartest thing we can do is to keep taxes low....I've worked with Congress to cut taxes, and pro-growth economic policies work. I don't get it. It's important to keep taxes low to keep the economy moving so that when the economy slows down we can continue to keep taxes low to keep the economy moving?