Texas Republicans assail Obama's plan on economy Economic talk ‘very cordial,’ but ...

Texas Republicans assail Obama stimulus plan

President Barack Obama prepares to make a statement on Tuesday on Capitol Hill after meeting with lawmakers. President Barack Obama prepares to make a statement on Tuesday on Capitol Hill after meeting with lawmakers. Photo: Lawrence Jackson, Associated Press Photo: Lawrence Jackson, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Texas Republicans assail Obama's plan on economy 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

He obviously hadn’t talked to any Texas Republicans. The GOP’s Houston-area lawmakers emerged from their closed-door session with Obama impressed with his sincerity and his outreach attempt but uniformly unimpressed with the costly plan designed to jump-start the stalled American economy.

“Redistributing hard-earned tax dollars will do far more to expand the power of the federal government than it will to stimulate the economy,” said Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston. “This legislation is a Trojan horse that liberals are using to ultimately turn America into France, because it contains massive expansion of multiple federal programs that are utterly unrelated to stimulating the economy.”

During a generally convivial hour-long session with House Republicans, several Texans, including Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling, bluntly told the president why they couldn’t support his plan. Hensarling, the Number 2 Republican on the House Budget Committee, said he told Obama that the “debt we incur today will eventually be paid by my 6-year-old daughter, my 5-year-old son and (the president’s) two daughters.”

Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, gave Obama credit for “a nice gesture” in coming to Capitol Hill but said the president’s visit did little to persuade skeptical Republicans.

“In the end, you still cannot borrow or spend your way to prosperity,” the newly elected Republican said.

Rep. Ted Poe assailed “a mind set in Washington that the bureaucrats know how to better spend our money than the people do,” while Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, said spending on programs such as education, health care and museums “do not boost the economy.”

“I can’t find an economist anywhere who will admit that contraceptives, zoo exhibits and repairs to the Jefferson Memorial are serious economic boosts,” Brady said.

He predicted that support for the stimulus package would not reach double-digit strength among the 178 House Republicans.

All three Houston-area House Democrats — Sheila Jackson Lee, Gene Green and Al Green — support the Obama economic package.

Chronicle reporter Stewart M. Powell contributed to this report.

richard.dunham@chron.com

hailey.branson@chron.com