President Barack Obama and his top advisers sought over the weekend to broaden the appeal of his proposed $825 billion economic-stimulus package and to defend the way they are pushing it through Congress, even as officials said the administration would move quickly to tighten the U.S. financial regulatory system.
But some senior Republicans said Sunday that they would oppose the stimulus plan as it now stands.
With action moving on several fronts, officials said the administration would make wide-ranging regulatory changes, including stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of the complex financial instruments that contributed to the economic crisis.