Senate Set to Vote Next Week On Stimulus After Accord On Cuts
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, scheduled a key procedural vote for 5:30 p.m. Washington time on Feb. 9 after a dispute over the measures size was resolved yesterday. If the procedural hurdle is cleared, Reid said a vote on the bill would take place on Feb. 10.
If it passes, lawmakers will attempt to reconcile the Senate bill with an $819 billion stimulus bill the House approved last month. Democratic congressional leaders are pushing to deliver a final bill to Obama by the end of next week.
The agreement reached on the Senate bills size by Democrats and three Republicans prompted Reid to express confidence the Senate would approve its bill. “We are passing a bold and responsible plan that will help our economy get back on its feet, put people to work and put more money in their pockets,” he said.
Throughout this week, a bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers has been demanding cuts to the bill as its size grew to more than $900 billion. Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who led the push to reduce that total, said after yesterdays accord was reached that he and other lawmakers worked “line by line, dollar by dollar” to cut more than $100 billion.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs
The plan they produced is “about jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said.
The $780 billion compromise plan that Nelson and the other lawmakers announced didnt include the cost of other changes that had been made to the bill earlier this week. Those amendments included tax cuts aimed at boosting the housing and auto industries.
Republicans estimated the bills cost would total about $827 billion. And the Senates top Republican, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said most of his colleagues continue to oppose the bill because, in their view, it emphasizes government spending over tax cuts.
“The president said originally he had hoped to get 80 votes” in the Senate, said McConnell. “It appears that the way this has developed, there will be some bipartisan support but not a lot.”
Earlier yesterday, the Labor Department reported an increase in unemployment in the U.S. and Obama stepped up his call for Congress to complete work on a stimulus plan. The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent last month from 7.2 percent in December, the Labor Department reported, adding urgency to the congressional talks. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly decline since December 1974.
Delay Inexcusable
Also before the Senate agreement was announced, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said she was “very much opposed to the cuts that are being proposed in the Senate.” These included reductions in spending for education.
The Senate agreement pared from the bill $20 billion for school construction, $2 billion to expand broadband access in rural areas, $3.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient and $200 million for NASA. It also reduced a proposed subsidy that would allow the jobless to buy health insurance through their former employers.
Tax Cuts Dropped
Tax cuts worth $18 billion were dropped from the measure. The accord also reduced the income cap for workers who would benefit from Obamas $1,000 payroll tax credit, to $140,000 for married couples and $70,000 for singles from $150,000 and $75,000, respectively.
“This compromise greatly improves the bill,” said Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican. Republican Senators Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania announced they also would support the package.
Democrats, who control the Senate with 58 votes, need support from at least two Republicans to gain the 60 votes needed in Mondays procedural vote and bring the bill up for approval.
During debate on the bill yesterday, lawmakers approved on a voice vote an amendment to fix the troubled HOPE for Homeowners program. That initiative was created last year to let homeowners struggling with subprime loans refinance into fixed-rate loans backed by the government.
Add A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.