US stimulus package gets green light

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US senators reached agreement on a financial stimulus plan totaling about $US780 billion, Democratic lawmakers said.

Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, emerging from a meeting of Senate Democrats at the Capitol tonight, called the agreement an important step and said senators hope to vote on it tonight.

“This is our best chance,”Senators have reached a tentative agreement on a financial stimulus plan of about $US780 billion, Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry said.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel attended a meeting with Senate Democrats and left, smiling, without speaking to reporters. Jennifer Burita, an aide to Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, said the agreement would be announced on the Senate floor.

Kerry called the agreement an “important step” and said the Senate hopes to vote on it tonight.

Before the meeting, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota said the plan being discussed doesn’t include about $US50 billion in funds for autos and homebuyers. Those were part of the $US900 billion-plus package debated in the Senate this week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said this morning that lawmakers had “made progress since last night” and “we’re now in the throes of trying to work something out.” He was pushing for a vote on the bill this evening.

Reid postponed a vote yesterday after lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a bipartisan group’s effort to cut more than $US50 billion from the plan.

Today’s Labor Department report, showing that the jobless rate rose to 7.6% last month from 7.2% in December, added urgency to the congressional talks. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly decline since December 1974. Losses spanned almost all industries, including construction, manufacturing, retailing, trucking, media and finance.

‘Inexcusable’

Obama, pointing to the Labor Department report, today urged Congress to wrap up its work, saying it would be “inexcusable” to get “bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual while millions of Americans are being put out of work.”

“Now is the time for Congress to act,” Obama said. “It is an urgent and growing crisis that can only be fully understood through the unseen stories that lie underneath each and every one of those 600,000 jobs that were lost this month.”

One of the lawmakers seeking cuts in the plan, Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, said they are pushing to drop about $US88 billion from the plan, including about $US63 billion in spending and $US25 billion in tax cuts.

She said lawmakers want to maintain the plan’s current balance between tax cuts and spending increases. Snowe declined to discuss what elements could be deleted, saying, “things have yet to be finalized.” She said a vote today on the plan is “highly probable.”

NASA, Schools

One draft of the proposed cuts being circulated by Republicans earlier today called for paring funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, school construction, public transit, the US Coast Guard and prisons, among other initiatives. It also calls for more defense and transportation-related spending.

Senators today approved, 73-24, an amendment imposing tougher restrictions on money for pet projects than those in the House bill. The House measure bars stimulus funding from going to casinos, aquariums, zoos, golf courses and swimming pools. The amendment adopted today includes those restrictions while also barring money from going to museums, arts centers, theaters, highway beautification projects, stadiums and parks.

“It’s about saying to the American people that we’re going to prioritize the spending,” said Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who sponsored the amendment.

‘Going to Be Gone’

Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, predicted today that Congress will complete action on the stimulus plan and have it on President Barack Obama’s desk next week.

“A week from now we’re going to be gone,” Grassley said on Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt, referring to the scheduled mid-February congressional recess. By that time “we ought to deliver a stimulus package” to Obama, Grassley said. “I just hope it’s the right one.”

Democrats, who control 58 Senate seats, would need backing from some Republicans to get the 60 votes needed to end debate and move to a final vote.

Any plan passed by the Senate would have to be reconciled with a package passed by the House worth $US819 billion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the spending in the House bill while speaking at a House Democratic retreat today in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Opposed to Cuts

“I’m very much opposed to the cuts that are being proposed in the Senate,” including reductions in education spending, Pelosi said. Even so, she said Congress needs to agree on a final bill quickly.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel attended the meeting at which the plan was presented to Senate Democrats and left, smiling, without speaking to reporters.

House Democrats have approved their own plan totaling $US819 billion.

Todays Labor Department report, showing that the jobless rate rose to 7.6% last month from 7.2% in December, added urgency to the congressional talks. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly decline since December 1974. Losses spanned almost all industries, including construction, manufacturing, retailing, trucking, media and finance.

Inexcusable

President Barack Obama, pointing to the Labor Department report, today urged Congress to wrap up its work, saying it would be inexcusable to get bogged down in distraction, delay or politics as usual while millions of Americans are being put out of work.

Now is the time for Congress to act, Obama said. It is an urgent and growing crisis that can only be fully understood through the unseen stories that lie underneath each and every one of those 600,000 jobs that were lost this month.

One of the lawmakers seeking cuts in the plan, Maine Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, said they are pushing to drop about $US88 billion from the plan, including about $US63 billion in spending and $US25 billion in tax cuts.

She said lawmakers want to maintain the plans current balance between tax cuts and spending increases. Snowe declined to discuss what elements could be deleted, saying, things have yet to be finalized. She said a vote today on the plan is highly probable.

NASA, Schools

One draft of the proposed cuts being circulated by Republicans earlier today called for paring funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, school construction, public transit, the US Coast Guard and prisons, among other initiatives. It also calls for more defense and transportation-related spending.

Senators today approved, 73-24, an amendment imposing tougher restrictions on money for pet projects than those in the House bill. The House measure bars stimulus funding from going to casinos, aquariums, zoos, golf courses and swimming pools. The amendment adopted today includes those restrictions while also barring money from going to museums, arts centers, theaters, highway beautification projects, stadiums and parks.

Its about saying to the American people that were going to prioritize the spending, said Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican who sponsored the amendment.

Going to Be Gone

Senator Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, predicted today that Congress will complete action on the stimulus plan and have it on President Barack Obamas desk next week.

A week from now were going to be gone, Grassley said on Bloombergs Political Capital with Al Hunt, referring to the scheduled mid-February congressional recess. By that time we ought to deliver a stimulus package to Obama, Grassley said. I just hope its the right one.

Democrats, who control 58 Senate seats, would need backing from some Republicans to get the 60 votes needed to end debate and move to a final vote.

Any plan passed by the Senate would have to be reconciled with a package passed by the House worth $US819 billion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended the spending in the House bill while speaking at a House Democratic retreat today in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Im very much opposed to the cuts that are being proposed in the Senate, including reductions in education spending, Pelosi said. Even so, she said Congress needs to agree on a final bill quickly.

Bloomberg

Technorati Tags: barack obama, John Kerry, Rahm Emmanual, US stimulus package

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