Action on President-Elect Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package may be realized within the first six months of his presidency, according to one Washington insider and Capitol Hill veteran.
Ed Greelegs of Levine & Greelegs and a former key staffer for several congressmen, along with Robert S. Kallen of RSK Strategies LLC and a member of the faculty of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Lake Forest, Ill., provided a look at the first 100 days of the Obama administration during a recent executive briefing at the college.
Both Greelegs and Kallen, who teaches economics and business law, said the proposed economic stimulus package, which includes substantial spending on infrastructure projects, will be the new administration’s major focus for the next six to nine months.
While Greelegs said he expected an economic stimulus package to “get done” in the first six months of the new administration, Kallen said he envisioned a package in place much earlier—by March 30. Once the bill is passed, it needs to go the various cabinet secretaries and departments for allocation.
“Groundbreaking for infrastructure projects will have to happen by August or September to have an impact,” Kallen noted.
“I see the first 100 days moving at warp speed,” Kallen told the group. He said the Obama transition team has indicated they are going to allow spending to occur that is “smart, fast and honest.” Key areas targeted for funding include infrastructure and energy. Both Greelegs and Kallen said local and state governments should be asking for money to upgrade infrastructure now.
“We see lots of projects, real quick,” Kallen said.
