Obama to urge speed on stimulus
President Barack Obama is set to renew calls on Congress to speed up the passage of his economic stimulus plan when he makes two speeches later.
President Obama says the stimulus plan is vital
Although the House of Representatives has already approved the plan, and the Senate is expected to do so by Tuesday, their versions of the bill now differ.
The two Congress houses will have to agree on a single final version.
President Obama says his package, which may come to $900bn (£612bn), is "absolutely necessary" for the economy.
His is to set to renew his calls on Congress to agree the plan as quickly as possible at both a speech in Indiana, and at his first presidential news conference at the White House.
Jobs push
One of the president＇s top advisers, Larry Summers, has already used television interviews to remind politicians of the need for haste.
"The president feels that... we need a major programme enacted very quickly that will create three to four million jobs," Larry Summers told ABC TV.
Mr Summers is head of the White House＇s national economic council.
Speaking on ABC＇s This Week programme, Mr Summers said: "The most important thing is that people come together and create the three to four million jobs."
He added that there was "90% overlap" between the two versions of the bill now in Congress, and "we＇ve got to get closure on the last 10%".
"There are certainly good ideas in both versions and we＇ll have to draw from those ideas in creating an ultimate vehicle," he said.
The House and Senate measures are largely similar, but there are some differences over how to expand the federal medical assistance programme, Medicaid, and over certain tax issues.
＇Forthright＇
US lawmakers will have to combine the two bills and have a finished version ready by the president＇s deadline of 16 February.
"There are respects in which both bills can surely be improved," said Mr Summers.
The former Treasury secretary added that a "large, forthright" approach was needed, with more support for education state and local governments to ward off a potentially downward spiral.
New US employment figures were released on Friday showing that nearly 600,000 jobs were lost in January, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.6% - its highest in 17 years.
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