No Discussion of Second Stimulus Plan: White House

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is not discussing a second stimulus plan, a White House budget official told Congress on Wednesday.

"No one in the administration is talking about a second stimulus at this point," said Robert Nabors, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, who is tracking the effects of the economic recovery plan already in effect.

Nabors testified at a House of Representatives hearing on oversight of the $787 billion stimulus plan. "What we are focused on right now is implementing the recovery act that Congress has already passed," he added.

Slideshow: Big Budget Events—Milestones in Government Spending

Nabors was asked about comments made by Laura D'Andrea Tyson, an economist who advised Obama during the 2008 campaign and is a member of his economic advisory panel, on Tuesday that the United States should be planning for a possible second round of fiscal stimulus that focused on infrastructure investment.

AP

"She's an outside economic advisor. She does not work for the administration," Nabors said.

When he signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law in February, Obama toted it as key to creating and saving jobs during the longest U.S. recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. But with the unemployment rate now standing at 9.5 percent, its highest in more than two decades, some are wondering if the various tax and spending measures can accomplish that mission.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday that U.S. leaders should be open to a second stimulus, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also a Democrat, has said he sees no evidence another recovery package is needed.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.