Lawmakers Agree on $789 Billion Stimulus Proposal, Baucus Says
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By Brian Faler and Ryan J. Donmoyer
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. lawmakers are cutting a proposed economic stimulus package to $789 billion and may be able to send it to President Barack Obama’s desk by the end of this week, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus.
“The votes are there for passage, that is clear,” Baucus said, while cautioning that lawmakers are working out details of the agreement. “Everyone is giving in here.”
Obama’s administration tentatively agreed to the overall figure, said a legislative aide who asked not to be identified. Administration spokesman Robert Gibbs said, “The White House believes we are making good progress toward an agreement on a plan to put Americans back to work.”
Baucus spoke to reporters after emerging from closed-door negotiations with colleagues and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel today in Washington. The new plan is smaller than the $838 billion bill approved by the Senate yesterday and the $819 billion package passed by the House last month.
“I don’t see anything that would constitute a deal breaker,” said Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who has been pushing for additional cuts. Nelson and other senators whose votes are crucial to passing the bill have insisted that the total be less than $800 billion.
Obama left the White House for a third straight day to stump for his stimulus plan, traveling to a road construction site in Virginia to underscore his argument that the package will create or save as many as 4 million jobs.
‘States Need Help’
“Across the country, states need help and with my plan help is what they will get,” Obama said in Springfield, about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) south of the White House.
Nelson said the negotiations included Emanuel and the three Senate Republicans who voted with Democrats for that chamber’s plan: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, said that the agreement is not final.
Baucus said about 35 percent of the plan would be set aside for tax cuts and the remainder would be government spending. He said lawmakers agreed to “shave” a proposed $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers, though he didn’t provide specifics.
Baucus said the plan might be approved by the House of Representatives as soon as tomorrow.
“There’s nothing like a deadline to force people to give and take a little bit,” Baucus said. Lawmakers are trying to get a bill to Obama before the Feb. 16 Presidents’ Day holiday. |
