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Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) (1/8/09):

“There’s only one thing we’ve got to do in this stimulus, and that’s create jobs. I’m a little concerned by the way Mr. Summers and others are going on this … it still looks a little more to me like trickle-down.”

Welcome aboard, Senator Harkin.

Update 7:30 PST: (NYT):

Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota and chairman of the Budget Committee, said lawmakers and the incoming administration had differences over how to focus the huge federal spending in a recovery bill. “Investment, investment, investment has got to be the central focus: energy, roads, bridges, waterways, housing,” he said. “Job creation is Job One.”

Mr. Conrad, who described the meeting as extremely positive, said Mr. Summers ended it by telling the senators, “Message received, loud and clear.”

Several Democrats on the Finance Committee earlier in the day questioned the proposal to give tax credits worth $500 to individuals and $1,000 to married couples. Several senators said that initiative would provide a token sum of money, which taxpayers were likely to save, not spend.

Senator John F. Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and others also criticized a proposal to give businesses a $3,000 tax credit for each new employee they hire, saying it was unlikely to influence business decisions.

Welcome aboard, Senators Conrad and Kerry.