Stimulus bill on track, aide says

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A senior aide to President-elect Barack Obama said escalating turmoil in the Middle East wouldn't derail a new U.S. economic stimulus bill.

"Not that anyone is unconcerned about the situation in the Middle East," David Axelrod said. "But, when you're struggling because you've lost your job … or you can't get a loan for your business or sending your kid to college, it's pretty hard to look past that," he said.

Axelrod said the public would have "little patience" for a protracted debate on the bill, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

But, Michael Steel, a spokesman for House of Representatives Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Republicans have been afforded little say in the bill that could cost $775 billion in tax cuts and infrastructure projects.

"They've not contacted us," Steel said.

The House could vote on the bill before the Jan. 20 inauguration, while the timing for a vote in the Senate is less certain, the Tribune reported.