Washington Post, “In Midwest, Obama Sings Praises of Stimulus Plan“:

EAST PEORIA, Ill., Feb. 12 — President Obama on Thursday touted the $789 billion economic stimulus package nearing congressional approval, telling workers at a huge manufacturing plant here that “a new wave of innovation, activity and construction will be unleashed all across America” once the plan is enacted.

The Post’s story is built around the President’s appearance at the Caterpillar plant in Peoria, Ill. Caterpillar and its top executive, Jim Owens, are advocates of expanded trade opportunities. So…

While Owens supports the stimulus plan, he is part of a group of manufacturing executives who had expressed concern that a “buy American” provision in the stimulus legislation could lead to retaliatory actions by other countries. The provision would require infrastructure projects in the stimulus bill to be built with U.S.-made iron and steel.

The final version of the stimulus bill includes the provision, although it says it must be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

“Absence of that wording would be perceived as violating our trade agreements and risking retaliation by countries accounting for 80 percent of our exports,” said Franklin J. Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers. “Even with that language, the provision affects countries not participating in the World Trade Organization agreement or not having a bilateral trade agreement with the United States.”

And a reasonable Washington Post editorial, “A Fiscal Gamble — The stimulus package isn’t pretty, but it is a risk worth taking.”

Finally, Bloomberg reports on the weakened tax provisions included in the final conference report, a set-back for manufacturing and the economy, “Tax benefit push falls short“:

WASHINGTON — The National Association of Manufacturers lost a last-minute lobbying campaign to fully restore a business tax break that House and Senate negotiators all but eliminated from the $789 billion economic stimulus bill.

Instead, lawmakers agreed to make more companies eligible for the tax break while still shutting large companies out of the benefit, according to a description released by the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees.

For the NAM’s view of these developments, the tax provisions, and our support for final passage, see this statement and letter posted at Shopfloor.org last evening.

While most of the national media concentrates on the troubles with President Obama’s Cabinet, the Washington Post leads with the BIG NEWS.

From “Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus“:

Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy.

The legislation represents the first major test for President Obama and an expanded Democratic Congress, both of which have made economic recovery the cornerstone of their new political mandate. The stimulus package has now tripled from its post-election estimate of about $300 billion, and in recent days lawmakers in both parties have grown wary of the swelling cost.

Moderate Republicans are trying to trim the bill by as much as $200 billion, although Democrats working with those GOP senators have not agreed to a specific figure.

We respectfully suggest a course of action,  a stimulus plan that embraces the provisions identified by the National Association of Manufacturers as having the most beneficial effect on the manufacturing sector and the economy in general.

NAM President and CEO John Engler sent a letter to Senate leadership Monday identifying top priorities for effective economic stimulus. Text follows:

Dear Leader Reid, Leader McConnell, Senator Durbin, and Senator Kyl:

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is gratified by the commitment of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional leadership and the Obama Administration to move quickly on a legislative package to help get America working again. Manufacturers recognize that immediate action is needed to address the unprecedented challenges faced by all sectors of the economy.

NAM members believe a balanced, fiscally responsible tax and investment package designed to help job providers and the people who depend on them, will go a long way to spur economic revitalization. To this end, we strongly support a number of provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (S. 1) scheduled for debate this week and encourage you to consider additional changes that will ensure that the tax and investment provisions have an immediate and direct impact on our economy. Legislation that combines timely, targeted tax incentives and increased investment in areas critical to our competitiveness will help get our nation’s economy back on track and ensure job creation and sustainable economic growth.

In particular, the NAM supports the following measures: