(CNSNews.com) - Former Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday that the president’s economic stimulus bill is unacceptable to Senate Republicans.
 
“’No bill’ is better than this bill,” McCain told CNSNews.com just outside the Senate chamber.
 
When asked if refundable tax credits – in which every worker would receive a $500 (individual) check from the government – could be removed from the bill as it moves through the Senate, McCain said he was not sure.
“I don’t know,” the former GOP presidential nominee said. “We think payroll tax cuts, according to our economists, are the most important way to go. We think that a combination of payroll tax cuts, appreciation, and other job creation tax cuts, are the most valuable.”
 
When asked if the refundable tax credits would help stimulate the economy, McCain said: “Well, I’ve showed a chart that I showed on the floor that it had no effect on the economy.”
 
McCain said he plans to offer the Republican alternative on Thursday.