In a front page story, the New York Times (12/7, A1, Baker, Broder) reported, "President-elect Barack Obama promised Saturday to create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy." Obama's team is "working with Congressional leaders to devise a spending package that some lawmakers suggest could total $400 billion to $700 billion," of which "a big part" may be devoted to "public works spending." Among the initiatives Obama listed was "to improve information technology at hospitals and doctors' offices."
On its front page, the Washington Post (12/7, A1, Shear) added that Obama "offered few details and no cost estimate" for the "massive government spending program." While Obama's aides want legislation ready by inauguration day, "congressional sources expressed skepticism...that a program of such size and scope could be passed in the two weeks after Congress returns to Washington on Jan. 6."
"Upgrading healthcare is the final component of the plan," Bloomberg News (12/6, Nichols) noted. Obama claimed that "by introducing new technology and electronic medical records...healthcare workers could 'prevent medical mistakes, and help save billions of dollars each year.'" According to The Politico (12/6, Allen, Martin), Obama said that "we must...ensure that our hospitals are connected to each other through the Internet." He claimed that his plan "will help modernize [the] healthcare system" by ensuring "that every doctor's office and hospital in this country" uses "cutting edge technology and electronic medical records."
The Washington Times (12/7, Lambro) reported that "top economists" say Obama's plan "is doomed to fail, because of the long time such projects need to inject money into America's economic bloodstream. ... In a paper in January that studied the effectiveness of various economic-stimulus bills, Mr. Obama's chief economic adviser, Jason Furman, said infrastructure spending was among the 'less-effective options' for breathing new life into the economy." The Los Angeles Times (12/7, Wallsten), the AP (12/6, Sanner), AFP (12/6), and The Hill (12/6, Brush) also covered the story.
Copyright © 2008 by Custom Briefings | 11190 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 130 | Reston, VA 20191