Obama Economic Adviser Predicts Relief Within Weeks of Stimulus Passage

WASHINGTON -- Measures to save law enforcement and teaching jobs will help cities see changes rapidly while withholding changes on paychecks could come "within weeks" of passage of an economic stimulus plan now being considered by Congress, one of President Obama's top advisers said Sunday.

National Economic Council director Lawrence Summers said despite the fact the U.S. economy's problems took months or years to create -- and it may take just as long to solve them -- immediate stimulus could come with hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending and tax cuts.

Congress is working on an $825 billion package -- the largest that would ever be enacted by the U.S. Legislature. Obama is scheduled to meet with Republicans this week to go over details of the plan. He met with a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers at the White House on Friday.

But Arizona Sen. John McCain told "FOX News Sunday" that as far as he can tell, not one Republican proposal has been incorporated into the stimulus.

"Maybe there has been. I just may have missed it, but clearly we need to have serious negotiations. We all recognize that the economy is in deep and serious trouble," McCain said, noting that as it stands now he would not support the package.

McCain agreed that the best way for the package to work is if it creates jobs, but said, "We are losing sight of what the stimulus is all about and that is job creation, if it doesn't create jobs than it's just another spending project."

Summers said that spending money to respond to the extra financial burdens of people is a good investment, and fiscal discipline will be necessary once the economy recovers, but spending is vital now to save an economy that shed 2 million jobs last year.

New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer told "FOX News Sunday" that the president and congressional Democrats "are trying to work very closely with the Republicans" to create a good package. He said tax cuts account for about a third of the stimulus package.

"A third of the package is tax cuts. That's generally the way the Republicans prefer to jump-start the economy. We prefer -- we think that tax cuts are probably not the most efficient way to do it, but in effort to compromise, there is a significant chunk of tax cuts in there," he said.

Schumer said Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid will allow Republicans to offer amendments to the package during debate "as long as they're relevant." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said any changes offered by Republicans would have to be measured by how many jobs they will create.

Pelosi described the economy as "dark, darker, darkest almost," and said economists believe new spending will create more jobs than would tax cuts.

Republicans are seeking tax help for small businesses and some home buyers and for lowering some income tax rates. Tennessee GOP Rep. Marsha Blackburn told FOX News that Americans know that they can't spend their way to recovery.

"This is a bridge to bankruptcy," Blackburn said of the current package.

While tax cuts are included in the package, including income tax cuts for individuals who don't pay income tax but pay payroll taxes, Summers asserted that the tax cuts passed during the Bush administration in 2001 and 2002 "are not going to be with us for long."

Whether that means repeal, or letting them expire at the end of 2010, House Minority Leader John Boehner said he didn't think Democrats "will be bold enough" to repeal tax cuts this year.

Summers and Boehner appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press." Pelosi appeared on ABC's "This Week."