WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. governors have assured President Barack Obama they would do their best to ensure the stimulus plan works, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday.
"As stewards of great deal of money," Rendell said after meeting with Obama at the White House, "we have an obligation to ensure money is spent" wisely, effectively and quickly.
He called pumping money from the $787 billion stimulus package into jobs and the economy "a work in progress."
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas, a Republican, said if the governors -- in Washington for the National Governors Association winter meeting -- focus on common goals, "I'm confident we can get the job done."
When asked about Obama's remarks that some criticism seemed to border on politics rather than policy, Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal said he appreciated Obama acknowledging governors' "legitimate concerns and issues" concerning the stimulus plan, such as a temporary expansion of unemployment benefits that could lead to an increase in unemployment taxes on businesses.
Jindal, who is delivering the Republican response Tuesday to Obama's budget speech before a joint session of Congress, repeated his belief that a different stimulus package could have been passed and that he still wondered why several line items were included.
He said he also agreed with Obama about the importance of transparency and accountability regarding the spending of stimulus dollars.
Jindal and other conservative Republican governors have said they may refuse portions of the stimulus package, such as money to extend jobless benefits.
