ABC's Gibson stated that "a lot of people" say spending in recovery bill isn't "stimulus" -- but CBO director says "most economists" disagree

From Media Matters-

Interviewing President Obama, ABC's Charles Gibson repeated assertions that "not enough" of the economic recovery package before Congress "is really stimulative," that the bill "really doesn't stimulate," and that "it's a spending bill and not a stimulus." But according to the director of the Congressional Budget Office, "most economists" believe "all of the increase in government spending" included in the bill "provides some stimulative effect." The CBO director has further stated that the bill "would provide massive fiscal stimulus."

During his February 3 interview with President Obama, ABC World News anchor Charles Gibson repeated assertions that "not enough" of the economic recovery package before Congress "is really stimulative," that the bill "really doesn't stimulate," and that "it's a spending bill and not a stimulus." Gibson made no mention of the fact that these assertions -- which he attributed variously to "some people," "a lot of people in the public," and "a lot of members of Congress" -- have been challenged by economists, including Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Elmendorf, who has stated in congressional testimony that the bill "would provide massive fiscal stimulus" and that the CBO, along with "most economists," believes that all of the of the spending in the bill "provides some stimulative effect."

During the ABC interview, Obama stated that the recovery package "balances the need for speed ... and the need for us to make sure that some of this money is going to long-term investments that will make us more competitive." Echoing Republican claims that that spending provisions in the bill do not constitute economic stimulus and that the bill itself is therefore not a stimulus bill, Gibson responded:

GIBSON: Which leads some people to say that you tried to do too much with this bill too soon, and not enough of it is really stimulative. And as you know, there's a lot of people in the public, a lot of members of Congress who think this is pork-stuffed and that it really doesn't stimulate. A lot of people have said it's a spending bill and not a stimulus.

In fact, in analyzing the House version of the bill, H.R. 1, and the proposed Senate version, the CBO stated that it expects both measures to "have a noticeable impact on economic growth and employment in the next few years." Additionally, as Media Matters for America documented, in his January 27 testimony before the House Budget Committee, Elmendorf said that H.R. 1 would "provide massive fiscal stimulus that includes a combination of government spending increases and revenue reductions." Elmendorf further stated: "In CBO's judgment, H.R. 1 would provide a substantial boost to economic activity over the next several years relative to what would occur without any legislation."