Politics

WASHINGTON (AP) ― President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan won't include money for politicians' pet projects and will include provisions aimed at ensuring his administration is open and accountable to taxpayers and Congress, a transition official said Tuesday.

As part of the package likely to cost as much as $775 billion, Obama plans to establish an oversight body to meet publicly and issue reports to Congress on how the money is being spent. The president-elect also plans to create a user-friendly Internet site to allow people to track the flow of dollars.

The official who disclosed the details spoke on the condition of anonymity because Obama planned to make the official announcement during a meeting later with his economic advisers.

In his first week in Washington and two weeks before he's sworn into office, Obama is focusing primarily on securing bipartisan support for a sweeping and costly economic plan aimed at pulling the country out of recession, creating jobs and updating infrastructure like roads and bridges.

With Democrats controlling the House and the Senate, the plan isn't likely to fail when it goes before Congress later this month or early next month. But Obama also doesn't want its passage delayed by partisan fights so he is hoping to persuade a large number of Republicans to sign on. This would allow him to start his term with an example of making good on his promise to change the way Washington works.

Obama's pledge to avoid money for pet projects and provide oversight of the spending is likely to reassure Republican and Democratic fiscal conservatives who are worried about the enormous price tag. Obama spent two years railing against money for pet projects on the campaign trail, and Vice President-elect Joe Biden had signaled earlier that lawmakers would not be allowed to attach such earmarks to the legislation.

The oversight body — the Economic Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board — is to include members the administration deems relevant to helping the country rebound from the year-old recession, as well as inspector generals of agencies directly involved in combating the recession, including transportation, defense, energy, education and health and human services.

Outside appointees with expertise in economics, public finance, contracting, accounting, auditing, and other areas will advise the board, which will hold public meetings and issue financial reports to Congress on how the money is being used as well as so-called "flash reports" on urgent issues that arise to address problems quickly.

The new Web site will allow taxpayers to track where money is being spent while also showing the administration's estimate of how the money is affecting individual communities and the economy overall.

In a rare preinaugural move, Obama has been meeting this week with congressional leaders to try to get the legislation ready for his signature shortly after his swearing in. He has predicted lawmakers would approve it within two weeks of his taking office.

Obama is proposing a package of as much as $775 billion over two years, his advisers say, though they say they think add-ons by lawmakers could raise the price to $850 billion. Obama's advisers say an $850 billion plan could generate about 3.2 million jobs by the first quarter of 2011.

His proposal, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, includes tax cuts of up to $300 billion — including $500 for most individuals and $1,000 for couples if one spouse is employed — as well as more than $100 billion for businesses.

Some $77 billion would be used to extend unemployment benefits and to subsidize health care for people who have lost their jobs. The rest would go toward job-creation projects such as rebuilding roads and bridges and toward long-term goals like alternative energy programs.

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