ElCount
02-07-2009, 08:03 PM
Senate readies $780 bln stimulus plan for vote
Compromise paves way for Congressional passage early next week
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:04 p.m. EST Feb. 7, 2009
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Senators are digging in over the weekend to tidy up a sprawling $780 billion economic stimulus package that they hope to bring to a final vote in both the House and Senate by early next week.
The Saturday session is built on a bipartisan breakthrough late Friday in which three Republican senators joined like-minded Democrats concerned that pet amendments had inflated the plan to an unacceptable level approaching $1 trillion.
Their compromise solution, at the center of weekend deliberations, also trimmed about $100 billion from the plan passed by the House late last month.
President Obama, after chiding lawmakers for not acting with the proper sense of urgency, applauded the compromise.
"Last night, the Senate struck a compromise on the economic recovery plan and put us on our way to giving the economy the short-term jolt and long-term investments it needs," Obama said in his weekly address to the nation. "Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we're equal to the task before us. Let's show them that we are."
Obama kept the pressure on lawmakers, arguing that in the face of soaring unemployment, there is no time to craft a perfect bill.
"Legislation of such magnitude deserves the scrutiny that it's received over the last month, and it will receive more in the days to come. But we can't afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary. The scale and scope of this plan is right. And the time for action is now," he added.
Assuming the plan receives the full backing of the Senate's Democrats, it now appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, handing President Barack Obama a major legislative victory in his efforts to revive the slumping economy through new jobs and targeted spending.
"It's stimulative and timely," said Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who played a key role in behind-the-scenes negotiations on the bill this week. Nelson said the compromise calls for providing tax relief to 95% of Americans, which dovetails with Obama's own proposal.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, another instrumental negotiator, said the pact managed to cut costs by $110 billion after intense, bipartisan negotiations, adding the result would help the economy recover from its bruising recession.
"Our economy faces a grave economic crisis, and the American people want us to work together," Collins said in remarks from the Senate floor.
But there were several Republican holdouts on the bill, including Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, who called the measure "nothing short of a disaster."
"It has nothing whatsoever to do with creating jobs," said Corker.
Nelson said the package contains $350 billion in tax cuts. It also contains billions of dollars in infrastructure spending, including construction of a smart electricity grid.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the plan would still provide tax cuts for individuals and businesses, aid to cash-strapped states, and billions of dollars in new spending. It would also boost support for jobless benefits, food aid for the poor, and road and bridge construction, according to the Journal report.
Clear in the background was news earlier in the day of the dire state of the job market. The Labor Department reported the nation's nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 598,000 in January, the worst monthly decline in more than three decades.
The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%. See unemployment story.
Speaking at the White House after that data came out, Obama said it was "inexcusable" for the stimulus measure to get bogged down "while millions of Americans are being put out of work."
"If we drag our feet and fail to act, this crisis will turn into a catastrophe," Obama said. "The bill before Congress isn't perfect, but it is absolutely necessary," he added.
Before the deal was reached, senators added several amendments that swelled the overall cost of the bill. A tax break aimed at home buying alone added $35.5 billion. Another amendment giving tax breaks to buyers of new cars and light trucks pushed the package's price up by an estimated $11 billion.
Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both pointed to the jobs report and said it's time to send a recovery plan to Obama for his signature.
"With a record 3.6 million American jobs lost in just the last 13 months, we cannot afford to delay legislation that will create new jobs and invest in a stronger economy for years to come," said Pelosi in a statement Friday morning.
Pelosi said Congress must complete the legislation next week.
The House passed its version of the bill last week.
Obama is hitting the road early next week, traveling to Indiana and Florida to hold town hall meetings about the economy and get support for his plan. On Monday, he'll travel to Elkhart, Ind., and on Tuesday he'll go to Ft. Myers, Fla., press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. Elkhart's unemployment rate recently jumped to 15.3%, and Ft. Myers's climbed to 10%, Gibbs said.
"It's important to go directly to where people are hurting," Gibbs told reporters.
Once passed, the Senate bill will have to be reconciled with the House version before being sent to Obama. Some Republicans including Rep. John Boehner, the party's leader in the House, are pushing for more tax cuts to be included in the bill, but Obama is resisting loading it up with tax breaks.
Compromise paves way for Congressional passage early next week
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
Last update: 1:04 p.m. EST Feb. 7, 2009
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Senators are digging in over the weekend to tidy up a sprawling $780 billion economic stimulus package that they hope to bring to a final vote in both the House and Senate by early next week.
The Saturday session is built on a bipartisan breakthrough late Friday in which three Republican senators joined like-minded Democrats concerned that pet amendments had inflated the plan to an unacceptable level approaching $1 trillion.
Their compromise solution, at the center of weekend deliberations, also trimmed about $100 billion from the plan passed by the House late last month.
President Obama, after chiding lawmakers for not acting with the proper sense of urgency, applauded the compromise.
"Last night, the Senate struck a compromise on the economic recovery plan and put us on our way to giving the economy the short-term jolt and long-term investments it needs," Obama said in his weekly address to the nation. "Americans across this country are struggling, and they are watching to see if we're equal to the task before us. Let's show them that we are."
Obama kept the pressure on lawmakers, arguing that in the face of soaring unemployment, there is no time to craft a perfect bill.
"Legislation of such magnitude deserves the scrutiny that it's received over the last month, and it will receive more in the days to come. But we can't afford to make perfect the enemy of the absolutely necessary. The scale and scope of this plan is right. And the time for action is now," he added.
Assuming the plan receives the full backing of the Senate's Democrats, it now appears to have the votes needed to clear the Senate, handing President Barack Obama a major legislative victory in his efforts to revive the slumping economy through new jobs and targeted spending.
"It's stimulative and timely," said Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who played a key role in behind-the-scenes negotiations on the bill this week. Nelson said the compromise calls for providing tax relief to 95% of Americans, which dovetails with Obama's own proposal.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, another instrumental negotiator, said the pact managed to cut costs by $110 billion after intense, bipartisan negotiations, adding the result would help the economy recover from its bruising recession.
"Our economy faces a grave economic crisis, and the American people want us to work together," Collins said in remarks from the Senate floor.
But there were several Republican holdouts on the bill, including Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, who called the measure "nothing short of a disaster."
"It has nothing whatsoever to do with creating jobs," said Corker.
Nelson said the package contains $350 billion in tax cuts. It also contains billions of dollars in infrastructure spending, including construction of a smart electricity grid.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the plan would still provide tax cuts for individuals and businesses, aid to cash-strapped states, and billions of dollars in new spending. It would also boost support for jobless benefits, food aid for the poor, and road and bridge construction, according to the Journal report.
Clear in the background was news earlier in the day of the dire state of the job market. The Labor Department reported the nation's nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 598,000 in January, the worst monthly decline in more than three decades.
The unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%. See unemployment story.
Speaking at the White House after that data came out, Obama said it was "inexcusable" for the stimulus measure to get bogged down "while millions of Americans are being put out of work."
"If we drag our feet and fail to act, this crisis will turn into a catastrophe," Obama said. "The bill before Congress isn't perfect, but it is absolutely necessary," he added.
Before the deal was reached, senators added several amendments that swelled the overall cost of the bill. A tax break aimed at home buying alone added $35.5 billion. Another amendment giving tax breaks to buyers of new cars and light trucks pushed the package's price up by an estimated $11 billion.
Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi both pointed to the jobs report and said it's time to send a recovery plan to Obama for his signature.
"With a record 3.6 million American jobs lost in just the last 13 months, we cannot afford to delay legislation that will create new jobs and invest in a stronger economy for years to come," said Pelosi in a statement Friday morning.
Pelosi said Congress must complete the legislation next week.
The House passed its version of the bill last week.
Obama is hitting the road early next week, traveling to Indiana and Florida to hold town hall meetings about the economy and get support for his plan. On Monday, he'll travel to Elkhart, Ind., and on Tuesday he'll go to Ft. Myers, Fla., press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters. Elkhart's unemployment rate recently jumped to 15.3%, and Ft. Myers's climbed to 10%, Gibbs said.
"It's important to go directly to where people are hurting," Gibbs told reporters.
Once passed, the Senate bill will have to be reconciled with the House version before being sent to Obama. Some Republicans including Rep. John Boehner, the party's leader in the House, are pushing for more tax cuts to be included in the bill, but Obama is resisting loading it up with tax breaks.